#ok official lyrics have it 'will not ever' but i CANNOT hear it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bluefirewrites · 4 years

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I'm sorry about your presentation, idk if your still doing hcs but can you do one where Reggie is julies older brother by 1 or 2 years and Julie in love with Luke and Luke likes her as well but neither will do anything because of Reggie. If not its ok. ☺

I brought up an idea similar to this a while back! But let’s rework it.

In this scenario, let’s say that the Molinas and the Peters' have known each other for a long while, ever since Julie and Reggie were kids. They’ve pretty much grown up together.

And then they get older and a lot of shit happens. Julie’s mom dies. And Reggie’s parents finally get a divorce.

As the two families are healing and trying to move on, eventually Ray and Reggie’s mom sorta just clicked.

And years later, they ended up getting married- officially making Reggie Julie’s brother.

They move into the Molina’s house and they transition to one big family so seamlessly that Julie often forgets that Reggie isn’t her brother in the biological sense. He’s always been an older figure to her, always looking out for her and Carlos.

She’s so used to having him around. And even used to having Reggie’s friends around growing up.

They all met when they were in middle school, but Julie hasn’t seen them much over the years, only seeing them during special occasions or whenever she would go to the Peters’ from time to time.

She remembers Alex, the shy blonde one who does his best to keep the peace when everyone got too rowdy.

And then Bobby, who is just hitting his stride in his sullen, moody teenager phase. Still nice though.

And Luke, the wild one. The guy was all long haired, energetic, and sporting some gnarly braces the last time she saw him.

She hears a knock at the door the night Reggie and his mom had moved in. Julie opens it and it’s the boys: Alex, Bobby, and- woah.

“Julie?” Luke smiles, his long hair cut to a still shaggy ‘do, braces gone, and now ripped, telling by how he’s proudly wearing his Nirvana cutoffs, “No way! Long time no see,”

“Y-yeah,” Julie instantly wishes that she wasn’t wearing her dinosaur slippers at the moment. She leads them all inside, telling them to make themselves at home while they wait for Reggie to come down.

Julie hurries off to her room, red in the face, internally freaking out about the idea of a cute guy coming over to her house on a regular basis.

A cute guy she cannot get involved with... imagine how Reggie would react...

The guys note the dreamlike expression on Luke’s face as he watched Julie go up the stairs. Once she’s gone, Luke whirls around, “Has she always been like that?”

“Squirrely?”

“No...” Luke drops his voice down to a whisper, “I mean, has she always been that cute?”

Alex and Bobby shoots this idea down real quick, “Woah! No no no! Off-limits! She's off-limits, Luke!”

“How come?”

“She’s Reggie’s sister,”

“Step-sister,”

“Still,” Bobby cuts in, “You know Reggie. He takes the brother role very seriously. He won’t let you stand a foot away from her if he heard what you just said.”

“If who heard what?” Reggie says, coming down the stairs.

“Nothing!” They all exclaim, and Luke silently thanks the boys for not ratting him out and invoking Reggie’s wrath.

He does know how Reggie can get when it comes to Julie. He’s already so protective of her. So he’s not going to try and do anything to piss him off.

And besides, he just finds her cute. It’s not like anything’s gonna come from it.

Wrong.

Luke and Julie are hardcore pining for each other the more time the boys spend over at the house.

And they’re over a lot.

Julie would come into the garage, now a studio space for the boys’ band, and watches them practice.

Somehow Luke finds a way to gravitate towards her. Always standing beside her, ready to show a song he’s been working on or just ask how she’s doing.

And Julie would find an excuse to hang around the boys, whether offering to help with songwriting or help clean up the equipment. One time, she hands Luke his guitar and their hands met. They both blush but quickly part before Reggie could see what transpired.

They sneak little casual touches here and there, both to gauge if the other person reciprocates their feelings and to hide whatever was going on between them from Reggie.

This all coming from the fear of Reggie flipping out on them.

Apparently when the boys bring up Nick from Julie’s class, joking about the way he was starry-eyed when dancing with Julie (secretly trying to get a rise out of Luke), Reggie immediately asks Julie about a thousand questions:

“Who is he? What does he do?”

“Do? He’s a student. In my grade...”

“Oh. No job? So he’s a deadbeat, huh? Doesn’t sound like a suitable match,”

“What are you going on about?”

“Does he like the Star Wars Prequels? Yes or No? There is a right answer”

“What does this have to do with anything, Reggie?”

“I need to know if he’s good enough for you!”

Reggie starts watching Nick like a hawk at school, going out of his way to intimidate the junior (well as much as he could. he’s still pretty much a puppy and super non-threatening).

It’s getting ridiculous.

So Julie goes to talk to Luke, to try and nip this in the bud before Reggie notices their weird behavior. She manages to play off needing help to get something in the laundry room to get him alone without suspicion.

“Look, we can’t do this anymore... whatever this is,”

Luke nods, “Agreed. Reggie’s my best friend.”

“And he’s my brother,”

“I don’t want to do something that would upset him,”

“Me neither. Glad we’re on the same page,”

“Right. Same page. So just friends. Deal?” she sticks her hand out.

He shakes it, “Deal,”

They lock eyes, appreciating how the other one looks under the warm dimmed light.

It takes only about .5 seconds for them to crash their lips onto each other’s, igniting a full on make out session. And by the time they finished, they realize their mistake.

Uh oh.

They can’t go back after this.

Now they really have something to hide from Reggie.

They sneak around the house, whenever they could.

Luke would make up an excuse to grab water or go to the bathroom in the middle of rehearsal, just to sneak up to Julie’s room to grab a quick kiss and maybe a small tickle fight just so he could hear that laugh he loves so much.

And Julie would join the boys at the dinner table, sitting next to him and discreetly slipping cue love notes into his pocket that she knows would make him blush and smile all goofily later (and if they turn into potential song lyrics? Well that's for them to know).

Alex warns Luke the next day, “I think he’s catching on. Be more careful,”

They spend more time together now that Julie starts writing songs for the band. Her and Luke would huddle over the piano, scribbling the night away, always sitting dangerously close to each other.

Once, Reggie observes them quietly from the couch with an unreadable expression on bis face.

“We are careful,”

Bobby raises an eyebrow at him, “Really? You tried to pass off the hickeys on Julie’s neck as rashes.”

“And Reggie bought it, remember? He went out and got ointment for her and everything,”

“He’s not stupid, Luke. You better do something about this. Fast,”

Luke sighs, “You’re right.”

Later that night, Luke pulls Julie into the upstairs bathroom, the one between her room and Reggie’s, to talk.

“Jules, as much I want to keep doing this... I can’t stand lying to Reggie,”

“Me too,” she says, “So, let’s just tell him. I don’t like hiding you.”

“But we need to plan it out. We can’t just spring it on him,”

“Catch him in a good mood hopefully, and we’ll tell him together,”

“Sounds like a plan, boss,”

“Love it when you call me boss,” Julie smiles, angling her head up to kiss him.

Just then, the door connecting to Reggie’s room bursts open and the said bassist enters in his bathrobe. His eyes grow wide at the sight of them tangled up in each other.

“What is going on here?”

The couple breaks apart. Julie and Luke jump to opposite sides of the bathroom, hands up in surrender.

“You didn’t lock the doors?” Julie hisses at Luke

“Was not my main priority!” Then Luke steps forward in an attempt to calm Reggie down, “Hey, Reg, pal, um, what you just saw-”

“You guys were kissing in here?” he yells.

Julie and Luke lower their heads, “...yeah,”

Reggie sighs, throwing his hands up in the air, “Unbelievable!”

“Reggie, we’re sorry-”

“In the bathroom, really? Can’t you guys do this in the laundry room like you usually do? My toothbrush is here, come on!”

Wait. What?

Did they hear him correctly?

“You knew?!” Julie all but screamed at her brother.

“Duh. You’re not really subtle,”

Luke splutters, “B-But Nick-”

“Found out real quick that he’s not the one I should be worried about,”

“And the... the, well..?” Julie gestures lamely at her neck, “Why did you get me ointment?”

Reggie smirks, “Just to mess with you.”

“So... you’re not mad?”

“Nah. Like I said. I need to make sure whatever guy you end up with, Jules, is good enough for you. And, well, I’ve known Luke almost all my life. And I trust him. Honestly, there’s no other guy I could think of that could be a better match for you.”

Luke’s hand rests on his shoulder, “You mean that, Reg?”

“Of course. I’m happy for you guys. But uh...” he sticks his thumb towards the door, “Could you like skip on out of here. I did come to the bathroom for a reason.”

“Oh, right,”

“Your Tia’s chicken went right through me-”

“Ok, Reggie! We’re leaving!”

“But one more thing,”

Luke and Julie stop in the doorway leading to the hallway.

“If you think I’m bad,” Reggie shakes his head, “Try breaking the news to Carlos,”

Luke pales, “Oh no,”

“’Oh no’ is right,”

The couple spins around to find Carlos in the hallway, arms crossed, staring them down, “Care to explain why you two were in the bathroom?”

“Well, uh, um, we were-” Luke turns to Julie, but the girl is nowhere to be found, having already yeeted to her room to escape an overprotective Carlos.

Luke throws a pleading look at Reggie, “A little help here, buddy?”

Meanwhile, Carlos is unamused, carrying so much tension in his small body that it has Luke gulping nervously.

“Nope you’re on your own,” he winks, “Make sure to tell him about the ‘rash’ while you’re at it.”

And with a laugh, the bathroom door closes.

“I can explain...”

#julie and luke sneaking around #is so much fun to write #and reggie being like bruhh #you think i'm stupid?#nah #julie x luke #luke x julie #juke #julie molina #luke patterson #reggie peters #reggie peters-molina #jatp hc #asks #blue answers asks

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jaskierswolf · 4 years

Text

You Set My Heart Ablaze pt 20/25

Warnings: Wildfires, training scenarios involving mentions of smoke inhalation, and other general firefighter stuff? (probably not accurate)

_______________________

The last week since Parents’ Evening had been relatively peaceful considering.

Yennefer had stayed with them for the weekend in the spare room before heading back to Cidaris. Vesemir had even let Geralt swap his weekends shifts to an on-call one. He couldn’t switch off properly and he wouldn’t be paid as much for the time but it did mean he could stay home with Ciri and Yen unless the team got called out to an incident which was bad enough to require all of them, or there were multiple jobs called in at one time. The majority of their days were spent training and maintaining equipment after all. The calls were hard and somedays it felt like they spent more time in the fire engine than the station but if Geralt really broke down his day, most of the day was spent making sure they were on the top of their game, working as a team and at peak physical fitness.

The only sticky moment had been on Saturday lunchtime when Yen had been out with Istredd. Naturally that had been when Vesemir had called Geralt to assign him to a job. Ciri had spent an hour hanging out in Vesemir’s office whilst Geralt went with Renfri to a block of flats where a small child had locked his parents out of the flat. Luckily there was a window left open and Geralt had climbed up using the fire engine’s ladder and swung though the window. He’d managed to open the door from inside the flat and no permanent damage was done. The parents had been incredibly embarrassed, but Geralt could hardly blame them. Ciri was a handful at the age of seven. This kid’s parents had two children under the age of five, it was like a tornado had hit their house.

By time he’d returned to the fire station Ciri had been running around the yard with Lambert, practising some of the drills Vesemir liked to run. Geralt watched the pair of them run the drills a few times before yelling a few corrections in his best Vesemir voice. Lambert tripped and fell which made Ciri laugh excitably before she ran over to Geralt.

She proudly announced that she would be a firefighter when she was older.

Geralt had felt strangely content in that moment. He’d had a similar moment when he was a little bit older than Ciri with Vesemir. Ciri may not be his biological daughter but in the short few months that she had lived with him she had become his family, there was no denying it. She still had Calanthe’s fierce stubbornness, and Pavetta’s endless love for the world, but now there was something of Geralt and his family in her too.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out whilst stirring the pasta sauce idly. He was making a large pot load so he could freeze some to use during the week for lunch and dinner for the pair of them. Yennefer had scolded him for the lack of fresh food in Ciri’s diet, he decided that a fuck load of tomatoes in the pasta sauce counted. There was even some chopped onion and garlic in there for good luck.

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling fondly when he noticed the string of emojis that Jaskier had changed his name to in Geralt’s phone.

J — Boooooooooooored xxx

Geralt rolled his eyes.

G — I haven’t had my weekly email yet.

They weren’t due out until tomorrow but Geralt knew that Jaskier had a habit of procrastinating and not writing them until the last minute. He smirked as he watched the dots wave at the bottom of the screen.

J— That doesn’t help my boredom dearest xxx

Geralt laughed, he could just picture the adorable pout on Jaskier’s lips.

G — That’s too bad.

J — Geralt!

— You’re no fun!

— We’re breaking up.

Geralt rolled his eyes and dipped a tea spoon into the pasta sauce to taste it. He grimaced. Something wasn’t right, more salt maybe?

G — Ok.

He swiped the salt from the counter and added some to the pot whilst he waited patiently as the dots appeared and disappeared at the bottom of the screen. Eventually Jaskier must have given up because his phone started ringing. He laughed as he swiped to pick up the call.

“Geralt!!” Jaskier whined.

Geralt looked around. Ciri was still upstairs in her room, he could hear the tell tale sound of things crashing about which meant she was probably trying to spar with her soft toys.

“My heart is broken, Jask.” He said sarcastically. “I’m not sure I’ll ever recover.”

“Darling, dearest of hearts, light of my life.” Jaskier cooed.

“Hmm?”

“Will you be my boyfriend?” Jaskier asked sweetly as if they’d never had this discussion before.

Geralt smirked. “I thought you wanted to break up?”

“Bollocks to that.” Jaskier stated firmly. “I am an artist Geralt! We are prone to exaggeration.”

“Hmm.”

“So?” Jaskier asked quietly.

“For the hundredth time, yes.” Geralt chuckled.

They had agreed that they were officially dating by the middle of the first week of the Beltane Holidays. Of course, Jaskier had a tendency to fake break up with him whenever there was a minor inconvenience in his life, such as being bored.

Geralt never believed him. It was hard to believe someone was seriously breaking up with you when they were curled up in your lap and sucking hickeys into your neck.

“I’ll make it up to you!” Jaskier trilled happily.

“I’ll add it to the list of IOUs.” Geralt rolled his eyes as he turned down the heat on the sauce. It was starting to boil too ferociously.

“I miss you.” Jaskier added with a sigh.

“Yeah.” Geralt agreed.

It had been difficult since school had started back. They hadn’t been able to see each since the first week of the holidays, not properly. There had been longing glances across the playground and the occasionally brushing of fingers if Geralt bought Jaskier and Triss a coffee on the way to work. The most they had interacted in person was Parents’ Evening and even then they had been on their best behaviour.

It was hard.

After a week of learning how to be in each other’s space and enjoying the freedom of being able to love each other freely, they were suddenly playing these roles of distant friends, if that.

He’d wanted to reach under the table to take Jaskier’s hand, just to be able to hold him but they were being watched. He noticed a woman at the back of the room surveying the whole event, not to mention Yennefer had been right there. Jaskier had later told him that the woman had been one Philippa Eilhart, one of the board members and one of the prime threats to Jaskier’s job should she discover their relationship.

Luckily Yennefer had sworn not to tell anyone, not even Triss or Istredd. They couldn’t risk it, not with the way rumours spread through the staffroom.

“Not long til summer now.” Jaskier sighed wistfully.

“No.” He agreed with a sigh of his own.

“It’s already half term next week.” Jaskier’s voice audibly brightened up. “I always forget how fast the last term goes. Spring term is fucking long!”

“Longer days, shorter terms.” Geralt hummed thoughtfully.

“And then you can be my boyfriend for real!” He heard a faint clap of hands. “Oh my darling, I cannot wait!”

“DAD!” Ciri bellowed from upstairs and he heard the thundering of feet as she raced from her room.

She would fall at the bottom step running like that. She always did.

“Shit! I have to go.” Geralt hung up on Jaskier and flew from the kitchen just in time to catch Ciri in his arms. Jaskier would no doubt berate him for it later but he didn’t mind, it was just another excuse to talk to Jaskier. “Cirilla, how many times have I told you not to run on the stairs?” He chided his daughter.

She huffed and crossed her arms in front of her. “I’m hungry!”

“It’s almost ready.” He assured her. “That doesn’t matter though if you break something falling down the stairs.”

“I’ll be more careful next time!” She insisted.

She wouldn’t be more careful next time. She never was.

He placed a kiss on top of her head and placed her back on the floor. “Ok, Cub. Can you help set the table?”

She nodded.

“Ten minutes, alright? Don’t forget to wash your hands.”

“Yes, Dad.” Ciri rolled her eyes.

“Watch the attitude, Ciri.” He warned gently and ruffled her hair.

She stuck her tongue out at him so naturally he stuck his tongue out right back at her.

She giggled happily and hugged him tightly before running back into the kitchen. He followed her with a fond smile and grabbed the bag of pasta from the cupboard.

___________________________________

Jaskier had rung Geralt up later that evening just as Geralt was getting ready for bed. They’d stayed on the phone for hours, eventually they had run out of things to say but it didn’t matter, they stayed on the phone just listening to each other as they did their own things. Geralt occasionally read out passages of his book that he thought was interesting, in turn Jaskier would stop scribbling in his notebook and ask Geralt what he thought of a lyric.

Eventually Jaskier had begun to snore like a pig on the other end of the line, which Geralt knew meant he was sleeping on his back. He never snored when he slept on his side, well not in the week they’d spent together.

When Geralt’s alarm went off the next day he was not ready for it. He hit snooze three times before Ciri came bundling into his room already fully dressed. Her hair was still loose around her shoulder and falling in front of her sparkling green eyes.

“Dad! Get up!” She bounced on the bed and he groaned.

“Two minutes.” He grumbled.

“I’ll call Mum!” Ciri sang happily.

“Shit, fuck. I mean. Ciri, no. Not a word to Yen.” Geralt rolled onto his back and Ciri clambered onto his chest to hug him.

“Does that mean I can’t tell her that you swore?” Ciri teased.

“Yes!” He sighed and petted Ciri’s long hair.

“Can I have extra cake for dinner?” She bargained.

“And breakfast tomorrow.” He agreed, knowing that Eskel had offered to take her to the zoo on Saturday.

“Yes!” She cheered and leapt off the bed. “Come on! We’re going to be late!”

“Alright alright. We’re stopping for coffee though.” He muttered.

If he was exhausted then Jaskier surely would be too. The teacher wasn’t good in the mornings on an ordinary day let alone when they’d been up half the night talking.

He got ready for work in record time and then help Ciri braid her hair before they bundled into the truck ready for school. They barely had time for his coffee stop but the queue was short so Geralt took the gamble and ran in to order three drinks, one black coffee for him, Jaskier’s preferred cinnamon covered caramel latte and a chai latte for Triss. Triss didn’t question her sudden inclusion on Geralt’s coffee run, but he’d agreed with Jaskier that he needed to show he wasn’t just favouring Ciri’s teacher and Triss was the best option as a cover.

He had to run with Ciri through the schoolyard, the coffee carrier in one hand and Ciri’s hand in the other. He swore under his breath when he noticed that it wasn’t Jaskier in the playground ushering everyone inside. He hurried Ciri along with the other kids and slipped through the doors to see Triss in reception.

“Geralt?” Triss asked, her hair was loose today, tumbling down past her shoulder in tight dark caramel curls. She was wearing a soft moss green sleeveless dress, and Geralt thought she looked a little like a tree fairy. Triss was undeniably beautiful, no wonder Eskel was so taken by her.

He passed her the chai latte. “Delivery, got one for Mr Pankratz too. Would you mind?”

Triss rolled her eyes. “Thanks Geralt. You’re too sweet.”

“Thought it might help get you through the last day before half term.” He lied with a shrug.

“Thank you.” Triss smiled. “I’ll make sure he gets it. He looked exhausted this morning, you must be psychic.”

Geralt hummed nonchalantly.

“I’m late. See you around Triss.” Geralt grunted before turning back towards the playground.

“Say hi to Esk for me!” She called after him.

He laughed softly. “I will.”

Eskel blushed brighter than the sun when Geralt passed on the message which delighted the wolf pack. Eskel and Triss’s budding romance was the current hot topic of conversation in the fire station which Geralt was relieved by, it meant that there were less eyes and him and Jask, and the less attention they had the better. At least until the school broke up for summer.

Another popular topic was the way Lambert had started insisting on joining the cats whenever they were called up to help or when they came in for training days, in particular he enjoyed to pair up with Aiden, a dashing blond firefighter and one of the more experienced on-call fighters. Aiden was looking to move to a full-time position, he’d quit his day job as an engineer a few months ago and was looking for a change.

Geralt frowned.

How the fuck did he know all that?

He groaned when he realised that it was like a repeat of when Ciri had just started school and all his team mates knew everything about Jaskier.

Fuck.

He should probably buy them all a round of drinks to make up for it.

“Geralt!” Vesemir snapped. “Quit your dawdling and get up the ladder, do you want the dummy to burn to death?”

He swore and checked his breathing apparatus before clambering up the ladder double time to make up for his daydreaming. The training building was filled with fake smoke to simulate a real fire so it was hard to see. He’d wasted too much time on the ground and the building was almost completely full of smoke.

He cursed and squinted around the room until he located the dummy.

He made a dash, minding the gaps in the floor and ducking under low obstacles. If he hadn’t run through this building countless times already he probably would have hit his head due to the bad visibility. He pulled the dummy up over his shoulder and ran back for the window.

But he was too late. Vesemir’s voice crackled in his ear through the radio. “Death by smoke inhalation, White Wolf. What will you tell their family?”

He cursed and made his way back down the ladder.

When his feet touched the ground with a heavy thud he found Lambert and smirking at him. He had his helmet under his arm and braces around his knees.

“Maybe next time we should call the dummy Jaskier.” Lambert teased.

Geralt threw the dummy at Lambert and pulled off his own helmet and mask. “I’ve got a better idea, let’s call him Aiden and send Lambert in.”

“Fuck off.” Lambert growled and lowered into a fighting stance. Geralt mirrored him, they hadn’t sparred in a while and he was looking forward to showing the younger man who was boss.

“Don’t start what you can’t finish, wolf.” Geralt challenged.

“Oh I can finish it!”

Lambert lunged forward and Geralt grinned. He stepped to the side and Lambert went flying to the ground. Lambert made that mistake every time, always too eager, too aggressive. Geralt pulled off his jacket and dumped it on the ground next to his helmet. It was too heavy to spar in, especially when Lambert wasn’t equally laden.

Lambert had pulled himself off the ground ready for a second attack by the time Geralt was finished. He jumped onto Geralt’s back and wrapped his arms around his neck. Geralt growled as he felt the pressure on his throat. It wasn’t enough to cut off his air supply, this was a friendly spar after all, but it was enough to surprise him.

“Get off!” He gasped and tried to shake Lambert off. “You’ve spent too much time with the cats.” He grumbled.

“It’s effective though.” Lambert laughed but his glee was short-lived as Geralt threw him to the ground. Lambert cursed as he rolled to break his fall.

“Not as much as you think.” Geralt shot back.

They tussled back and forth for a few more minutes before Geralt managed to pin Lambert to the floor. The prick refused to yield though and Geralt rolled his eyes as he counted down in his head, waiting for the inevitable holler.

“ENOUGH!” Vesemir roared and they broke apart.

“Sorry Chief.” Geralt smirked and reached out to help pull Lambert up off the floor.

“Sorry Chief.” Lambert echoed as he dusted off his trousers.

“If you want to spar, use the gym. I don’t want any injuries because you decided to wrestle on tarmac. I thought I’d trained you better than that.” Vesemir grumbled. “Geralt you’re on the lunch run. Lambert, laundry.”

Lambert yelled. “Oi! How come he gets lunch and I get laundry!”

Vesemir raised an eyebrow at Lambert and crossed his arms. “Because, wolf, you should have yielded but you are a stubborn ass. It’s your turn up the ladder. Eskel’s finished with the reset. Get your gear on and I’ll start the clock. Hopefully Aiden will have better luck than Jaskier.”

“Vesemir.” Geralt groaned with his head in his hands.

“Should name the fucking dummy Triss and see how my idiot brother likes it.” Lambert grumbled pulling on his jacket and buckling his helmet under his chin.

“Enough of your moaning, wolf.” Vesemir snapped. “Are you ready?”

Lambert wasn’t ready.

Vesemir didn’t care.

“Go!” He clicked the stopwatch and Geralt heard the whirring of the smoke machine click on.

“Fuck!” Lambert shouted and lunged for the ladder.

_________________________

Geralt’s lunch break was cut short. The alarms began to ring out in the station and the wolf pack mobilised with a collective groan. It was always just when they started lunch. Sandwiches were thrown haphazardly back into the fridge and then ran to find out what the job was and who was going.

Vesemir was waiting for them in the few minutes it took for them to get their gear on. His face was sombre which was never a good start to briefing.

“Wild fire out on the heaths.” He grumbled passing Geralt the print out of the details. “The farmland is nearby, if that lights up then it will have devastating results for everyone. Get out fast. All of you. It’s going to be a long evening, the bears will meet you there at the end of your shift and I’ve already called the cats for back up.”

“Yes, Chief.” They chorussed.

“Renfri with me in one engine. Lambert and Eskel, take the other one.” Geralt barked and they were off.

They saw the smoke from a distant and Geralt swore. The pillars of thick black smoke billowing into the sky was never a good sign.

“That’s a lot of smoke.” Renfri murmured as they pulled into the road nearest the fire.

The police were already there, cordoning off the area to keep members of public away from the fire. It always astounded Geralt how many people ran straight to the barrier to try and catch a glimpse of the raging fire. He wondered how many of them would run into the flames if the tape wasn’t there to stop them.

It was a long and tiring shift battling the flames in the heathland. He was dripping with sweat underneath his suit by the time the bears turned up. Both teams worked together for about half an hour as they managed the handover. The cats and the wolves both limped away from the fire as dusk was settling over Posada.

He pulled his helmet off as they approached the cars that the bears had arrived in.

“Geralt!” He heard a familiar voice and he turned around so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash.

Jaskier was standing by the tape with a paper bag in one hand and Geralt’s thermos in another. Geralt had forgotten that he’d given it to the teacher way back in October during their trip to the school.

“Ger-Bear?” Renfri asked with a smirk.

“You go. I’ll be alright.” He nodded and walked over to Jaskier.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Lambert cackled as he slung his arm around Aiden and headed to the cars.

Geralt rolled his eyes and flipped Lambert off. He couldn’t do much else in front of the watching public and journalists.

“Jaskier.” He greeted the teacher with a weary smile. “What are you doing here?”

Jaskier passed him the paper bag and Geralt peered inside. There was a ham and cheese pastry sat at the bottom of the bag. He looked back at Jaskier in shock. The man’s eyes were sparkling blue in the moonlight, he looked beautiful like he was the spirit of the moon that had chosen to walk the Continent.

Jaskier shrugged. “I saw the news. They said you’d been on the scene since lunchtime. I thought you might be hungry, oh and here.” Jaskier passed the thermos. “I’ve been meaning to give this back.” He added sheepishly.

“Bit late for coffee.” Geralt noted.

Jaskier laughed melodically. “Which is why it’s not coffee.” He tossed his fringe out of his eyes with a flick of his head. “Go on, have a taste.”

Geralt flicked the lid and sniffed the drink. “Chamomile?” He asked.

Jaskier put his hands on his hips. “Oh I forgot about your freakish sense of smell.”

Geralt scoffed. “You didn’t have to do this.”

Jaskier squeezed his shoulder. “I wanted to. I was worried about you.”

Geralt smiled fondly at his boyfriend before reaching into the bag and splitting the pastry in half. He handed half to Jaskier who tried to protest.

“Oh no.” He waved his hands and pushed Geralt’s offering back at him. “I bought that for you.”

“You poison it?” Geralt asked with a tired laugh.

Jaskier gaped and grasped his chest with his hand. “Geralt, how dare you insinuate such a thing?”

“How long have you been waiting for me, Jask?” Geralt raised an eyebrow at the brunet who shuffled awkwardly under his gaze.

“An hour, maybe two but that’s not the point!” Jaskier pouted.

Geralt pushed half the pastry into Jaskier’s hands, enjoying the excuse to be close to him again. “Eat, Jaskier.” He insisted.

Jaskier huffed a sigh but took the pastry. “You drive a hard bargain, Geralt.” He noted around mouthfuls of pastry. The crumbs fell over his bright red coat and Geralt rolled his eyes, Jaskier was a messier eater than Ciri.

Geralt laughed. “You have a lift home?”

Jaskier shook his head and bit his lip, looking far too guilty as Geralt watched his own lift drive away behind Jaskier. “I got the bus.”

Geralt sighed heavily. “You could have said something before I let them leave without me.”

“Hey now!” Jaskier pouted. “I never offered you a lift home.”

“No, you just lured me over with food and tea.” Geralt raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah well, couldn’t exactly lure you over with kisses and cuddles now could I.” Jaskier muttered almost unintelligibly under his breath.

Geralt was barely able to resist pulling Jaskier into a hug and resting his chin on his head but there were too many people. It probably looked strange enough if anyone here recognised them from the school. Not many teachers were friends with the parents, but Geralt calmed himself in the knowledge that Jaskier’s friendship group and his were starting to overlap pretty heavily. Geralt was friends with Yennefer, Yennefer was friends with Triss and Is, Jaskier was friends with Triss, Triss was dating Eskel and Eskel obviously worked with Geralt. There was no denying that Jaskier would now be part of his life regardless of how he felt about the teacher.

“Add them to the IOU.” Geralt murmured back.

Jaskier laughed and bumped his shoulder against Geralt’s. “Wonderful plan, my dear.”

“I’ll call Vesemir. See if I can get us a lift.” Geralt suggested.

“He wouldn’t mind?” Jaskier asked with a lick of his lips.

Geralt huffed a laugh. “I never said that but I don’t think the bus runs this late.”

“I could call a taxi?” Jaskier suggested with a twinkle in his eyes and he squeezed Geralt’s arm gently. “I got you stuck here, and I was going to call one anyway so we might as well share?”

Geralt hummed in agreement and decided it was a good time to eat his half of the pastry. His stomach rumbled appreciatively at the first bite. He hadn’t realised how fucking hungry he’d been. Maybe Jaskier was right in trying to refuse his half. He scoffed down the pastry in a couple of bites. It was cold now but the cheese had definitely been melted at some point it tasted like heaven. He’d only managed to eat a couple of energy bars since breakfast after their lunch had been interrupted by the alarms.

Jaskier noticed Geralt’s delight with a smirk and pulled out a second screwed up bag from his pockets. “See I knew it!” He laughed. “Eat up, White Wolf.”

Inside the second bag was a very squished bacon and lettuce roll, homemade by the looks of it.

“Has this been in your pocket the whole time?” Geralt asked as he sniffed the roll. It didn’t smell funny which was a good sign.

“Nope!” Jaskier grinned. “I just knew you would try to be chivalrous so I hid this when I saw you coming over.”

Geralt wanted to kiss him.

Instead he munched happily on the extra food as Jaskier set about calling them a taxi back into town.

Geralt cleared his throat when he was done eating to get the teacher’s attention. They were standing side by side watching the road but not quite touching and he longed to reach across and take Jaskier’s hand. Jaskier, who had been chattering about his day at school, went silent and looked back at him.

Geralt scowled as he tried to find away to put his feelings into words that Jaskier, and only Jaskier would understand, but he didn’t have Jaskier’s poetic talent and skill with words.

He sighed. “Three things.” He mumbled. “You, Ciri, my family.”

Jaskier gasped quietly and brushed their fingers together for barely a second. “Oh dear heart, I know.”

Geralt smiled fondly as he looked up at the stars. It had been a long and exhausting shift but suddenly the world seemed to be alright. _________

#the witcher #you set my heart ablaze #geraskier #wolfie's witcher writing #I do not have energy to tag #so there we go

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steponmepinkjun · 3 years

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I NEVER FINISHED MY STORY OMG. ok so i left off at being too proud to tell my friend she was right and kpop fucked hard. the difference between u and me is that i’m too good of a liar. too good. i kept up the “i hate kpop it’s cringe” facade for ALMOST TWO WHOLE YEARS, I SHIT YOU NOT. why? bc my dumb ass, extra ass, dramatic ass self thought “ok if i’m gonna have to deal with the embarrassment of admitting i’m wrong, i better do it in such an extra ass way it’ll knock ur socks off so hard that YOULL be the one embarrassed not me.” the original plan was to learn the entire choreography to bts dope, bc it’s the song that she told me to listen to and inevitably the song that got me into them, but later switched to bts fire bc i saw too many of those “choreo matches w any song” videos, and then her birthday party came up. and here’s the real kicker. her birthday is April Motherfuckin Fools. so it would be So Perfect for me to reveal my kpopism as a birthday present And a april fools prank in one. so i was Set on the Reveal being on april 1st, but the day rolls around and god that choreo is so fucking hard and i am Not a dancer. never have been. so i abandon that and go ykno what… i’ll do it Next Year. BC MY BITCHASS WAS LIKE NO THE MOMENT IS TOO PERFECT TO DO IT ON A NORMAL ASS DAY ITS GONNA BE ON APRIL FOOLS ON HER GODDAMN BIRTHDAY OR NOT AT ALL. a year rolls by, i’ve told most of our friends except her and they’re all in on it, i’d made so many subtle kpop references to her without her realising they were fully intentional and had too many scares where she almost figured me out but i lied my way out of it, and i’d given up on showing off with choreography bc i couldn’t make that shit look good. i’m not a dancer. i am, however, a rapper, and a damn good one, so i inhaled the agust d mixtape and decided i’d just rap the eminem of kpop’s anthem at her face. in korean. and change the lyrics at the end (if u haven’t listened to agust d, the bridge repeats “i’m sorry” a lot) to “i’m sorry i kept this from u for so long” and “i’m sorry i actually ult got7 not bts” (this was like the april after skz debuted ok i was holding onto got7 for dear life knowing full well skz we’re going to convert me smh) and the best part? she never saw it coming. her official present was a cd with a bunch of kpop on it but she thought it was just a personalised mixtape for her so i told her to play the first song out loud and she knew the song Instantly. it has a long intro so she was like “i guess u did listen when i recommended u this song!! i knew you’d like it since u like rap so much!!” and then i started rapping and i shit u not. she started SCREAMING. like the initial reaction was her jaw dropping and then instinctively covering her mouth but when i kept going and she realised i wasn’t fucking around she just fucking screamed like a banshee. at the end during the sorry bit i threw off my jacket to reveal a got7 shirt on the inside and she fell off her chair and started rolling around on the floor. needless to say it was every bit as satisfying as i thought it’d be LMAOOOO afterwards her ass was like “I CANT BELIEVE U HID THIS FROM ME FOR OVER A YEAR” and when i tried to explain my ego couldn’t take the “i told u so” she was like “you know i wouldn’t have made fun of you for it right? i would just be glad you’re not hating on my boys anymore” so basically i’m a big dramatic fool and she was always too good for me.

don’t mind the weird spaces here my ipad is being all fucky wucky w me rn. damn sad to hear ur sideblog experience didn’t go so well, i’d have shown u the cool side of the fandom if i knew 😤😤 leading u thru the cursed halls of kpop stan tumblr like a sketchy tour guide that’s actually 3 small raccoons stacked on top of each other like a trench coat, like “over here we have the fanfic writers that honestly need to publish a book, over here we have the gif makers that are responsible for my entire camera roll, if we take a quick swerve past the death threat anons and the twt fanwar screenshots - mind ur feet bub the 14 year olds were tryna make a grab for ur ankles - ah here’s the holy grail of shitposts, you might be here for hours, to the right we have the weird aussie side of the fandom that projects our childhoods onto chanlix but also all the members as we decide what their life in australia would’ve been like, and down there is a secret trapdoor to the blogs w endless random headcanons that will make you laugh, cry or blush depending on if the author woke up and decided to choose violence today. enjoy your Stay!” but then again i’m not so active on tumblr anymore (ngl you’ve become the highlight of my tumblr experience these days, interaction wise,) so maybe all my Local Hotspots are inactive now. i know a bunch of them are, it’s sad. “i don’t fw stan twitter for the same reason i don’t hang out in meth dens” oop. guess i’m a meth addict. no but i get u i rly do, it’s a hellhole out there, but the fact that things get shared and spread a lot easier than on tumblr and how short most things have to be (therefor keeping up w my adhd attention span without having to resort to the mental torture that is tiktok, with the added bonus of not always needing headphones.) that i just. couldn’t leave if i tried. maybe i should try being active on tumblr again but it’s a dying site in comparison.

“their music doesn’t consistently hit for me as much as skz” i’m sorry we can’t be friends anymore. what. what. you don’t dramama ramama ramama hey? you don’t feel a little jealousyyyyyy, naega anin? you don’t shoot out, shoot out, shoot out, or aremdaeun love killa love killa? you can’t be your hero du du du du du du du du du dududu? u disappoint me. literally like everyone i know who likes skz music likes mx music like it’s a rite of Passage. they’re kindred spirits, monsta x music is like skz’s music’s cool but mildly heterosexual older brother. neither of them know what a bad song is it runs in the family. and both their music runs in my VEINS. whenever i describe my music taste they’re always the first two that come to mind, skz being my number 1 bc they are my best boys but mx bc of the Flavour. pls listen to the entire the code album then get back to me 😤🙌 ok but fr ur so right they are 7 of the finest men i ever seen (yes i say 7 bc i’m including wonho cause he deserved better and i’ll die on my ot7 bullshit.) like don’t get me started on them either LOL i LITERALLY downloaded that one insta video of changkyun working out his back n arm muscles w his tattoo showing bc i needed that shit saved for Science. they could do Anything w me like frfr. yes vixx is the bdsm contract group i’m telling ya they wildin. or at least they were. it’s been years since their last comeback idk what they’re doing anymore tbh. and yeah that makes sense, savouring the hyperfixation i feel it, but also i’m so attached to skz that i never let it die. like i hyperfixate on other things and other groups but i will Always go back to skz cause they’re my homeboys. hell, they’re my home. being a predebut stay i’ve spent more time w skz than most of my actual family members at this point. but that’s just me you do u boo xx just know that if ur anything like me ur never letting go once skz it’s been my longest lasting fixation cause they hit like Nothing Else Do. ik i’ve already said that but i cannot stress it enough. they’re really special. i’m gonna stop here before i get all sappy and emotional bc i really love those boys so fucking much and i don’t drop the L bomb often. SIDE NOTE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE UR LIST OF GROUPS RANKED BY THORSt. i need to judge ur Taste. and omg cat&dog is such a guilty pleasure song bc the lyrics make me cringe so much bc while pet play can be fun they be doing it in more of an “i’m an innocent soft dogboy uwu” kinda way that just Does Not Sit Right with me. it comes back to the objectifying of asians that asians themselves don’t help in industries like these and maybe i’m looking too far into it when rly it is just wholesome n cute or maybe they are into some pet play shit idk idc i will bop to the song regardless but i will not acknowledge the lyrics nope.

YOURE RIGHT THO SKZ’S OPENNESS IS IN FACT, A BIG DEAL, i’ll grab them for u if u want but i found these twt threads of skz supporting the lgbt community and i just felt a special kind of happiness man like sure the delusional part of me likes going “haha they’re gay” bc my brain likes to imagine them as my polycule of mlm boyfriends bc sometimes thats what gives me the serotonin to get me thru the day ok don’t judge but also bc it’s nice knowing that yes i’ll never know them personally, but at least i can support them knowing they’d respect my gender identity and my pronouns, they’d respect who i choose to love, and that’s already more than the general public can say so shit, it is special! it’s special that they don’t treat being cishet like the norm - they constantly remove gender from their songs and speech entirely, they don’t assume all stays are female anymore, we don’t talk abt the babygirls incident cause we got babystays in the end outta that ok, and it’s just. so refreshing and important to me bc i can’t get that anywhere else!! like my semi ults are the boyz and while i love them very much and there’s no way all 11 of them are straight i refuse, i do get just a little bit sad whenever they she/her their fandom by default and call them their girlfriends n shit even tho i do still identify as a girl, i’m also genderfluid/nonbinary/transmasc, and i have a very love/hate relationship w my womanhood and rarely use she/her pronouns, cause it’s like, do you not see me? see us? the ones who aren’t cishet women? i mean i know kevin does bc he congratulated a fan who came out as nb but it’s just not the same as the openness we get w skz. like how do i trust cishets i could be supporting them as a queer person when in reality they’d call me a slur. what would i know, behind the screen? so it’s so good that skz go the extra mile to make it a safe space for everyone. this is already long enough i will reply to the second half of that ask in another message… tomorrow cause it’s 1am and i’m tired gn -felix bi anon

I'mma have to start putting these under a readmore so that i don't absolutely make everything who is still following me for some reason go totally fucking insane 😂

NDJDHWJJAHFNAKBSJSBFBHHDBDNAJD YOU HAVE NO IDEA THE FACES I WAS MAKING READING THIS, I WAS FUCKING CACKLING AND GASPING EVERY OTHER SENTENCE SO HARD THAT I SCARED THE CATS NDJWHSHSB the fact that you went "oh you want me to get into kpop? Give me a hot minute, and I'll give you a whole ass private concert for free" biduehsjdbd biiiiiiiiiiitch you're a fucking ICON, I stg I could NEVER 😂 (and not just because I couldn't find a tune if you gave me a printed set of Google maps directions and that I embody the steriotype that white people can't dance, like my sister kept sensing me tiktoks of the whole "dance like a white girl" trend going lmfao look it's you and eventually I was like "sis please this trend has me feeling like being white is a disability and these mothafuckers are being ableist 😭 also I could NEVER be that on beat so yall ain't even doin it right 😭😭😭😭"). Tbh if I told one of my friends (lol what friends, i got jokes) to get into Skz and they showed up at my bday and performed the entirety of I Got It I would simply shower them in money and go "aight everyone else go home, you are no longer needed, you are being laid off, your position has been eliminated, we're downsizing, the company is moving up and you're moving out, you are not qualified for this role any longer, best of luck with future endeavors" 😊

I think part of the reason I can't deal w Twitter is the exact reason I refuse to leave tumblr, in that I've been on tumblr since 2006 and twt since 2008, and tumblr literally has not changed at all, not even a little, whereas going from the early days of twt where there were no corporate sponsorships or ads and you had to manually copy and paste someone's tweet and @ them to retweet it, to how it is now, like 90% ads and showing me shit from the timelines of people I don't even fuckin follow n whatnot, it's just not enjoyable. Idk how anyone finds anything on twt, it confuses and frustrates me because I am old and have not adapted well to technology changing 😂 But arguably, the skz fanbase doesn't want me on skztwt anyways so like it works for both of us lmfaooo. I am old and cringey, and also still think of twt as stream of consciousness whereas tumblr is your teenage bedroom where you can decorate the walls with anything that interests you. I do really love the nonsensical kpoptwt shitposts tho fhshsbdjjss like it is a very specific flavor of mental instability that I enjoy immensely 😂 OH and also I initially misread part of that and thought you were saying you actually irl do meth and I was like 😳 WHAT DO I SAY TO THAT. HOW DO I HANDLE THIS. Like how do I express like "I wasn't being judgy of people who use substances cause I've been there but I was just being insensitive 😳" And then went back and reread it and was like WHEW, IM JUST AN ILLITERATE FOOL 😂😂😂😂 ejeywhdhrhjwbfbdjshdhdhd I spent like an hour bwign like "IS THE REASON WE GET ALONG BECAUSE THEY'RE ON METH???? WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS INFORMATION??????" hrhehshe I am literally a fuckin idiot it's fine

It's not that I don't fw them, it's more like... Okay so like there is no situation in which I am going to skip a skz song if it comes on shuffle. You will not ever catch me NOT in the mood to listen to Sunshine, if God's Menu comes on we are THROWIN the meager amount of booty meat I got hither and thither, I could be in the happiest mood of my life but if Ex comes on I will stop to SOB. And I'm not like that with most music, so mx just falls into the category of "there is a time and place." Idk why but it just doesn't forcibly grab hold of my heart and ass the way skz always does. I really don't WANT my skz fixation to ever end, but I know that eventually it'll stop giving me dopamine bevause my brain is my worst fucking enemy 🙃 like my arcana fixation is to date the longest running hyperfixation I've ever had, going on almost three years, and I used to not be able to spend every single second of every day thinking about Asra, but now... I just feel nothing when I look at arcana stuff. As you can probz tell by the fact that I hardly post arcana anymore 😂 So I know that eventually all my happiness will end, it always does, I can never stay just as obsessed with something as I was for long. I CANT SHARE THE LIST BECAUSE I DONT *HAVE* TASTE YET 😭 I'm basically just compiling a list of any group someone tells me I should look into, ranked by how strong the kitty purred upon googling pics of them 😂 My mom read my ass to FILTH over txt lmfao she was like "they're not that adorable. Maybe your standard for adorableness has gone down with You Know Who still on hiatus 🤔" bfjwhdhd like MOMMAAAAA THE LIBRARY IS CLOSED 😂 she attacks me any time I even hint at stanning other groups, she is a skz purist and stans skz only, unofficial Momma Stay of All Stays keeping me in check lmfao.

I feel like skz really do follow thru on their promise that they're a safe space for stays, it's nice to see that they hold space for anyone and everyone in their fanbase and do it in a really simple and elegant way, I feel. Like they never make it seem like "okay here are the fans and here are the token weirdos that were only recognizing to make a buck off of them" the way a lot of artists make it feel like 😑 like they don't go out of their way to act like it's some revolutionary act to do the bare minimum of not shitting on certain parts of the fandom, if that makes sense. They feel very "yeah, of course we love all our stays, this is a welcoming space for literally anyone, that's how it should be, that should be normal," instead of like "Hi fans we love you 😊 and special shoutout to you ell gee bee tee folk, make sure to buy my rainbow merch after the show!!!" you know? Like, they're the friends who would never make you feel weird or different for some shit, the friends that take the attention off you if something they know ur sensitive about comes up, instead of weirdly snapping at whoever brought the unfomfy thing up which ruins the mood and makes you feel tiwce as bad, yk? They just give off this vibe that they, and the space they create with their music, is just a genuine and chill place to be and hang out and relax and bond. I feel like they'd be the friend group that is so goofy and sweet and silly and accepting and lovely and always makes you feel loved and excited to be alive 🥺 They are all good noodles 🥺🥺🥺

#felix-bi-anon #asksteppie

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putschki1969 · 4 years

Text

H-el-ical//’s First Online Interview (English Translation)

Note: Here’s my English translation of H-el-ical//’s first online interview with SPICE. I hurried to finish my translation because I wanted everyone to read this awesome interview. I think there are so many gems in this, especially for us Kalafina fans. Hikaru is talking quite a bit about Wakana and Keiko and their respective solo careers. Please be sure to check it out! As always, take everything you read with a grain of salt, my Japanese is by no means perfect. CREDIT me if you share my translations or use parts of it.

In her first online interview H-el-ical// talks about a new world ~ “I want to discover this world together with everyone”

Solo project『H-el-ical//（ヘリカル）』 by Kalafina’s Hikaru//. Although many songs have already been released on her official YouTube channel, her major debut single 「Altern-ate-」will be released under NBC Universal on May 20. In this interview she has told me about stepping forward on a new musical path with the help of this song which is currently being used as the opening theme for the TV anime "Gleipnir". What is Hikaru// 's “relationship with music” at this moment?

I already know the happiness of being able to incorporate the things I love in my work

―― We did a SPICE live broadcast together recently but it feels like it has been a while since our last interview. First of all I would like to ask how you are dealing with the current situation?

I am simply staying at home. Before all of this I was forced to leave the house for work but now I am really just at home all the time (laughs).

―― In the past you have often said that you like staying at home.

Yes. I have always been a hikikomori but I used to go out for work or to visit a collab café or maybe some bookstores. Now all of that is not possible. It has gotten bad, there are times when I don’t leave the house for an entire week or longer.

―― Under such circumstances you are celebrating your major solo debut as H-el-ical// with your single 「Altern-ate-」. How did you feel when you heard that you would have your major debut under NBC Universal who you are now affiliated with?

Well ... I was beyond happy! Of course, my work as part of Kalafina is very important to me and it’s an experience I will treasure forever but receiving the great honour to make myself known as a solo artist made me incredibly happy and I am very grateful. I felt a strong sense of wanting to do my very best.

―― I get the impression that your song 「Altern-ate-」 is tied very tightly to the anime “Gleipnir”. You have always had a strong desire to "be involved in anime" haven’t you?

That's because I really like anime. That's not the only thing I want to do of course but I already know the happiness of being able to incorporate the things I love in my work (laughs).

―― How so (laughs)?

By being in charge of an anime song I feel like I can surpass myself. I think it’s because I have so much love for the work, more so than even for myself. It’s something I have always loved so I am also able to put a lot of love into my work. I think I am able to sing anisongs because I have so much love for anime. That’s how I see myself and how I want to be.

――「Altern-ate-」is definitely an anisong. Watching the opening one cannot help but notice that the video and the song are very strongly connected. Was the song produced before you saw the anime?

Well, after hearing about the plot and receiving some reading materials, I asked Gushimiyagi-san to write the song in advance. Of course we also sought out the opinions of everyone involved in the creation of the anime. Finally I added the lyrics and then I asked all of them to review the song. When I got their OK everything fell into place, they added the OP video. If you feel like the song and the images are matching it's thanks to the anime creators.

―― Didn’t they request anything from you regarding the song?

No one told me to do anything particular for the song. However, I heard them mention that they would like an up-tempo song so I kinda knew that would happen (laughs). When I got the song, I immediately thought it had a catchy tune.

―― So your first impression was that it had a catchy tune?

Yes, since it is my first single I thought that kind of catchy melody was great for me. Personally, I am the type that likes listening closely to the lyrics but first-time listeners who don't know H-el-ical// will most likely pay more attention to the melody so I think the song I received is perfect for this occasion.

―― The lyrics which are tied to this melody were written by yourself, right? You have been writing the lyrics for all songs released under your project H-el-ical//. I had the impression that you read through the manga "Gleipnir".

I read all of it (laughs). After all, I felt the need to get as close as possible to the original work since I was creating music for it. However, there are also lots of people who don’t know anything about the manga listening to the song so in order for those people to be able to identify with the song I also included many aspects of our daily life.

―― It's not just a song for fans of the work?

I made lyrics that I associated with scenes and dialogues that impressed me in the manga. It’s about conflicts and frustrations we all experience in our everyday life. This song is meant to push you ahead, to provide strength, it’s supposed to support you in moments when you feel like you need and want to become a stronger person.

The responsibilities of working solo

―― In the lyrics you are saying twice 「この物語の主役じゃない | I am not the protagonist of this story」, I think those lines are leaving a strong impression. This leads right to a line saying 「でも逃げない | But I won’t run away」. I think that very much encapsulates the essence of “Gleipnir”.

Yes, it really screams “Gleipnir” (laughs).

―― I thought those lines reflected the feelings of the main character Shuichi very well but in a way I also felt like somewhere within those lyrics you also put a lot of yourself in there.

When I was reading the original work there were lots of things I could relate to, it’s those aspects I worked with…how do I say this? The manga might be fiction but in some way it feels very real to me.

―― So it is a fantasy but it’s also real?

Yes, there are definitely many things that resonate with me. I like manga and anime because you can escape from reality but at the same time they can offer solutions for your everyday problems.

―― So there really is a lot of yourself in those lyrics.

For example, let’s talk about the lyrics 「主役じゃない | I am not the protagonist」, I think we are all the leading characters of our own lives but when we do something out of respect for someone else we are no longer seeing ourselves as the main character. I think what motivates people in life is thinking about others. However, when we are taking action while thinking of someone else it is necessary for us to make up our minds, to be determined, after all, we are responsible for our behaviour... So yeah, these were the thoughts going through my mind while reading the manga (laughs).

―― That’s very deep ...

Yes, “I want to share this feeling with everyone”. Having that in mind I wrote these lyrics (laughs).

―― Watching your daily activities and talking to you on broadcasts I feel like there are not many artists these days who take their fans’ thoughts and opinions into consideration as much as you do. I wonder if that is because you are also a fan of anime and manga.

I think the feeling when I really like something about an anime or manga is the same feeling when people who support me say things like, “I love this and that about Hikaru, I would like to see more of it!” I appreciate it and I really want to cherish that. So yeah, that may be the reason why I am valuing those thoughts and opinions so much, it’s because they are born out of love.

―― It got more noticeable once you became a solo artist. I think it was a great chance for you to use social media to convey your thoughts and to put more of yourself out there.

Yes, you are also in charge of what you say and what you do because you are the only one around. You may upload something and regret it later, since it’s all your responsibility you have the option to correct your mistakes and to explain yourself.

―― The responsibilities of working solo

Well, as member of Kalafina I was part of a unit so I always had to worry about the possibility of my personal actions damaging the image of Kalafina. But now everything I do is my own responsibility. It can be quite daunting but it's also very rewarding.

―― All mistakes are your own.

Yes, it’s all my own doing. All the good things and all the bad things are my responsibility. Of course there are advantages and disadvantages to being responsible for yourself but it helps you to become more aware .

―― So you actually want to take on all that responsibility? Do it all your own way and take responsibility for your own actions? As you mentioned earlier, there are advantages and disadvantages. I wonder, during your Kalafina days, did you ever want to be that kind of person?

Hmmm...I don't know ... I never really thought, “I want to be that kind of person!” I think balance is very important when you are part of a unit. After all, you always have to be aware of the consequences of your actions regarding your group. It's a good thing to have some individuality but for the most part we always made sure there was some sort of balance.

Rather than standing all on my own I would like to borrow everyone’s strength

―― You also shot a MV.

Yes, all you see in the video is me (laughs). It’s quite surprising. I was wondering, "Can I handle this on my own?" Until now it has always been the three of us ... (laughs).

―― You are the only one standing in the middle of the forest and on that cliff.

That's right. There are many parts of the song where I am not singing so I wondered about how fast I should be moving. I was really confused and lost. We used a drone to shoot the video and I was asked to do multiple takes. Since it would be boring if all my movements had been the same, I changed little details during each take but gradually I ran out of variations, there is only so much a single person can do (laughs).

―― You are worrying that the impressions given by the MV will remain boring and one-sided (laughs)?

Yeah (laughs). I felt good while shooting the MV but all the time I kept wondering what kind of MV it would be. I felt very grateful and constantly had to remind myself that, “wow, this is the MV for my first single…!” Even when we did a final check I was very happy with the result, we only had to fix one little thing.

―― I would like to ask about the title of the song, did you come up with it?

Actually, I was asking members of the staff to help me with that. I eventually went with my manager’s idea.

―― Your manager’s idea!?

Yes. I first proposed a few of my own ideas but I wanted to hear other thoughts on it as well so I discussed different options with everyone. “Please share your wisdom with me!” We all put our heads together and eventually came up with the title 「Altern-ate-」.

―― Since your manager is also attending the interview why don’t we ask him? How did you come up with the title 「Altern-ate-」?

Manager: Well, the story is about the two main characters becoming one so I investigated a bit and came across the word “オルタネイト | orutaneito” which has the meaning of "alternate/mutual". After further investigation I realised that the final part of the word “ate” is actually the English past tense of “eat”. In this anime world, the two protagonists meet early on but they don’t have a lot in common. Surviving and defeating all your enemies is the most important thing for them, I felt like the word really fit into the world that was created here. That’s how we ended up with 「Altern-ate-」.

―― I see, it really is fitting.

As one would expect from the H-el-ical// team! I've said it a few times already but H-el-ical// is not made up of just one person, this project is a group effort.

―― Yes, you have mentioned that before.

Of course it is very important for me to do things myself but I have spent 10 years of my life as part of Kalafina and if there is one thing I learned during this time, it’s to rely on others to make up for the things that I myself am lacking (laughs).

―― Very significant words.

You should never force something that’s not possible. Of course there will always be things that will be impossible for you but those things still have to be done, that’s why you have to do your best and cooperate with the people around you in a way that is satisfying for all parties involved. Rather than standing all on my own I would like to borrow everyone’s strength from time to time. That’s what I learned during the past decade growing up (laughs).

―― Inner growth?

Yes, I definitely grew up in those times. Before I became a part of Kalafina I had never really relied on other people. Of course I am still hesitant when I need to rely on others but I allow myself to ask for help more often now compared to before. So this is something I have learned as a member of Kalafina.

―― Now please tell us about the second song. The title is 「Clea-rly-」. I felt this song was also very reminiscent of “Gleipnir”, when I listened to it for the first time I had the impression it might have been sung by the heroine Clair-chan.

We thought a lot about what kind of coupling song to make for this single. Originally we had the plan to make it a ballad that would be the exact opposite of 「Altern-ate-」but since this is my major debut single we decided to go all out and use the momentum. Once we had decided that the B-Side would also be an up-tempo song I worried a lot about the lyrics.

―― I see.

My producer Akihiro Tomita-san said that 「Altern-ate-」incorporated Shuichi-kun’s feelings very well but I guess the lyrics may also be interpreted from a different character's point of view. Either way, it was quite the challenge to come up with something fitting for the B-Side, I ended up writing the lyrics with Clair-chan in mind.

―― I think it's interesting that both songs are up-tempo, the B-Side「Clea-rly-」 has a sharp 8th note groove. So I feel like people who are watching the anime might think this kind of groove is very Clair-like.

I guess so.

―― I think the personalities of the hero and the heroine are reflected very well in the rhythm of these two songs.

I haven’t asked Gushimiyagi-san whether that was his intention or not. But we were definitely thinking about creating a balance when we recorded these two songs.

―― During your Kalafina times there weren’t really too many crisp rock songs likes this. I wonder, did you have a hard time recording this song?

We recorded 「Clea-rly-」super quickly.

―― Oh really, you did it quickly?

We were finished very quickly (laughs). I think I've always liked such songs, I like it fast (laughs). So I don't think there was any difficulty.

―― Is that so?

I usually have the song separated into different blocks and I will record each block at least three times, out of these recordings we will extract the best takes and use them. I didn’t feel any hesitation this time around so the recording was over in no time. But generally speaking, every song takes about an hour or maybe two hours to record.

―― I guess that can be attributed to your growing abilities as a singer?

Maybe so. Tomita-san and Gushimiyagii-san listened outside the booth and made some decisions but basically the recording was left to me, I had full control. That may be the reason why I was able to finish so quickly.

―― Once again we are back to the "responsibility" that you mentioned earlier. I guess you are starting to take responsibility for everything.

Until the time of the recording I will think of various patterns and singing styles. I have to choose among them. I am in charge of the lyrics and vocals but of course there are things that I have to leave to others like the arrangement or mixing but I will occasionally ask, “can you maybe do it like that or change this a little?" My team has a lot of respect for the production process and they make sure to include me so we always make smooth progress.

I want to give back back as much as possible to the people who support me abroad

―― At this point of time you have released two albums independently as H-el-ical//, your first album “H-el-ical//” which was sold at your live and the mini album “elements”. Now you are releasing 「Altern-ate-」. Your major debut is a tie-up, does this feel different than your two previous releases?

Hmm. The degree of freedom is different. After all, when you are writing a song and lyrics for a specific work that adds a certain kind of responsibility, you have to respect creators of the work and the people who love it. With these added feelings your attitude changes quite a bit.

―― Are you going to continue releasing your music on Youtube while you also release physical albums?

I don’t just want to do tie-ups, I want to find out what kind of songs I can create as H-el-ical// and just sing for the sake of singing, that’s my individual pursuit. I want everyone to listen to this and feel like we share the music. I definitely don’t want to lose this platform so I plan to continue posting music on my official YouTube channel.

―― When you are looking at the YouTube comments, you get the impression that your foreign fans are very happy. You are providing lyrics in multiple languages and you always add an English translation to your tweets.

Yes. I know that there are so many people out there who support me, I can't just ignore that. Of course I know that there are also many of them who are studying Japanese and trying to understand my Japanese tweets and even doing their best to understand the lyrics.

―― I think overseas fans are very happy that you are always thinking about them.

People will listen to music for all sorts of reasons, they like the melody or the sound or the voice of the singer. I am happy if I can share my thoughts with the people who listen to my music. Depending on what you know or don’t know your impression of a song is very different after all.

―― Yes, I think that is the case.

I am that kind of person. I would like people to think, “ohh, she is singing that kind of song, how interesting!” I will do the best I can to return the favour and give back as much as possible to the people who support me, not only in Japan but all over the world. I don't know how much I can give but I would like to show my appreciation as best as I can.

―― More so than taking your fans’ thoughts into account it’s almost like you are taking a fan’s perspective.

Yes, I guess I am seeing it from a fan’s perspective (laughs).

I am very much looking forward to everyone’s solo work

―― In this long-awaited interview I would also like to ask a little about your past and the future. We've talked about it many times but I think the existence of Kalafina is still very important to you.

Yes of course.

―― First it was Wakana-san, then it was you. Keiko-san has also decided to make her solo debut. All three of you are now being active as solo singers. As ⅓ of Kalafina I would like to hear how you feel about this?

I'm incredibly happy. Of course I am more than happy and grateful for ten years worth of singing together as a trio as a part of Kalafina, there is so much significance in that experience. But I think the three of us as singers have the will and power to express music by ourselves.

―― You each have pride as a singer?

Yes. In the interviews I have done in the past I always talked about not just wanting to be part of Kalafina, I have never abandoned my wish to work as a solo artist, I had never forgotten about that dream. Back then I was the only one who had expressed that wish but I am happy that now each of us is determined to do solo work.

―― Yes, I remember, you always said that it was your wish to sing solo.

At that time I thought it would be best to do it alongside my activities as member of Kalafina. Nowadays I am filled with happiness because I know we all have the opportunity to pursue our own music, our songs and all kinds of other things. I love Wakana-san and Keiko-san’s voice and I'm looking forward to what kind of music they will be creating. Among everyone who has been involved in Kalafina they have always been the closest to me so I am just really looking forward to what they are doing. I love them as a fan just like everyone else (laughs).

―― You were always singing together and now there is this new situation where each of you is listening to the others from an outsider’s point of view, right?

I have seen Wakana-san and Keiko-san singing non-Kalafina songs during many Yuki Kajiura Lives. However, there was no such thing as them performing solo. Right now I am just cheering for them and very much looking forward to what’s coming next.

―― As singers isn’t there are some sort of rivalry between you?

I guess that’s par for the course in this line of work.

―― I see.

When I am talking about rivalry I mean it in the sense of a healthy competition, they are worthy opponents. We are able to bring the best out in each other. For me there is absolutely no negative connotation to the term “rival”, I have no wish whatsoever to beat them or kick them down. I think every singer feels that way. It’s not about being jealous or wanting to be like that person.

―― By being aware of each other you can bring out the best in each other.

At the end of the day when it comes to our relationship with music it is the most satisfying thing to express what we want to express. I am more than happy when the people who listen to my music can find something they like but if they don’t like it they should find music they can enjoy. During my Kalafina days I think there were many people who didn’t particularly like my singing but they loved Wakana-san and Keiko-san’s singing and expression. It makes me very happy that the three of us now have the chance to play an active role in our respective fields and to deliver music to as many people as possible.

I think music has always been rooted in people's lives

―― This interview is conducted online at the beginning of May during Golden Week. I feel like the world has changed a lot recently. After the lockdown period has ended, I think it will take quite a while until we will be able to hold big lives again with thousands of attendees. At the same time things are changing drastically when it comes to how we express art, our viewpoints have changed, everyone is exploring various new things.

I agree.

―― I would like to hear what you think about this.

Hmm...well, I think music is something we can’t live without. Music has always been rooted deeply in people's lives. For example, praying for rain by beating the drums or singing a song. People have been doing this for centuries.

―― Yes, dancing and singing are often considered to be offerings to the Gods.

Yes. When you wanted to celebrate something or feel healed, music has always been what people turned to. With that in mind, I think music will never disappear. There will always be people who will crave it and when that happens I want to be able to provide my own music.

―― As someone who has chosen music as their path in life, you want to provide what is required.

Yes, I have chosen this job as my profession and I am doing the best I can but it is a profession that can only exist when there are people who listen to the music. So I want to keep singing and stand before you as long as there are people who want to listen to me. Honestly though, I will probably sing for the rest of my life even if no one is listening to me (laughs).

―― Unfortunately, your acoustic live that was scheduled for April was cancelled, it would be nice if the world got back to normal soon so public lives were possible again.

I think it’s also important to find a connection through the screen, that’s what we can do right now ... But I always say that lives are like a "conversation" for me, meeting you in person and being close to each other provides a lot of warmth, we can share our thoughts with each other, so I hope that we will be able to do that soon again.

―― Finally, please leave a message for the fans.

Thank you for reading this article to the very end. I often think about my position as a singer. I decided to do the best thing I could and launched the H-el-ical// project. Now, with the help of all kinds of people, I have been able to release a major debut single as a solo artist, the day I watched the first episode of "Gleipnir" I cried like a baby. This brought so much happiness, I will never forget it. H-el-ical// is something that I want to create with all of you. Of course it's my solo project but there are many more people involved in this project, including everyone who is reading this article. I would like to discover and see new sceneries, new places and a new world together with all of you. Therefore, I would appreciate your continued support for H-el-ical//.

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thenighttrain · 4 years

Text

folklore first listen

pls feel free to ignore this, i just wanted to record my screaming on my blog so that i can refer back to it and laugh at myself someday x

The 1

THE PIANO OMG I LOVE IT AND I LOVE THE BEAT I looooove THIS SONG IT’S SO NOSTALGIC WHO THE FUCK IS IT ABOUT OH MY OGD IM SCREAMING also the swearing I’m living… ok seriously who is this about I am losing my mind. This is so bittersweet I’m ?!!!!!!!!!!!! I REALLY LOVE THIS

CARDIGAN

I ALSO LOVE THIS WHAT ITS’ SO NOSTALGIC and the music video is so pretty wit the green and she looks like an actual forest nymph with the piano and the water and it’s all incredible. YOU DREW STARS AROUND MY SCARS BUT NOW I’M BLEEDING???????? BITCH. THE LYRICS IN THIS ARE FUCKING INCREDIBLE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK OH MY DISJFASLDFNSADF OH MY GDO I knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss??????? MAAM?

The last great American dynasty

SO INTRIGUING HOW SHE WROTE THIS??? WHAT IS IT ABOUT? IDK BUT I LOVE IT

Exile

BON IVERRRRRR I LOVE THE WAY HIS VOICE SOUNDS IN THIS AND THE CHORUS IS HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL and the background vocals… omg. This album his the most unique thing she’s ever written I????? I LOVE HOW HER VOICE SOUNDS N THE CHORUS. ‘You were my crown now I’m in exile seeing you out’? YOU KNOW LIKE I CAN IMAGINE THESE SONGS AS THE SOUNDTRACK TO SO MANY OF MY FAVOURITE FANTASY BOOKS IM LOSING MY MIND. ALSO OH MY GOD BON IVERS VOICE AT THE END HOLY FUCK!!!! THIS IS SO GOOD THIS IS ONE OF HER BEST DUETS IM LOSING MY SHIT this song is incredible I am in LOVE

My tears ricochet

TRACK 5 TRACK 5 TRACK 5 AHH I LOVE HOW DEEP HER VOICE GOES AND THE BACKGROUND VOCALS OMG. Oh my god the chorus I am in love, I love her voice sounds so raw on this album, we haven’t heard that in years IF I’M DEAD TO YOU WHY ARE YOU AT THE WAKE CURSING MY NAME?? OMG. This is fully giving me like fae woodland imagery I just love it, the vibes of it all! AS YOU BURY ME? OH MY GOD IS SHE A GHOST IM SCREAMING I LOVE THIS PERSPECTIVE. HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK THE BRIDGE!!!!!!!! THE LINES ABOUT SCREAMING. THE BRIDGE IS UNBELIEVABLE AND THE WAY IT JUST FADES OUT I?

Mirrorball

Omg I love the vocal effects! This is full indie pop vibes I AM DIGGING IT. OH MY GOD THE CHORUS BROOO OK I OFFICIALLY LOVE THIS SONG IT’S EXACTLY THE KIND OF MUSIC I LIKE LISTENING TO. ‘Drunk as they watch my shadow, edges glisten’ oh wow the lyrics in this album are fucking otherworldly. Oh fuck this is agood bridge. I really cannot wait for all the analysis of this album by smarter people because I am not understanding BUT I AM LOVING IT. ALSO IDK WHAT A MIRRORBALL IS BUT I LOVE IT ANYWAY. How does she know such fancy words, I want her brain

Seven

‘I ht my peak at seven’ ok but same? HEYY SHE MENTIONED MOON AND SATURN I AM LIVINGGGGG. It’s so soft and wistful, those are the vibes of this album so far and I am really LOVING IT. PLEASE PICTURE ME IN THE WEEDS BEFORE I LEARNED CIVILITIY I USED TO SCREAM FEROCIOUSLY ANY TIME I WANTED?? IM YELLING I LOVEEEEE THESE LYRICS OH MY GOODNESS

August

ONCE AGAIN I LOVE THE VOCAL EFFECTS, I LOVE THE WAY HER VOICE SOUNDS. Omg the chorus is catchy! I love the way she sings ‘I can see’! OK THSI SONG IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITES I MEAN JUST LISTEN TO IT? I HAVE BEEN IN A STATE OF SHOCK SINCE LAST NIGHT BUT THIS IS MAGICAL ETHEREAL GROUNDBREAKING NEVER BEFORE SEEN INCREDIBLE PERFECT. OHH GOD THE BRIDGE IS COMNIG UP- YES IT’S AJFDSNAFKJSDFAF SHE WROTE THIS SONG IITS’ SO GOOD MISDFN JASDNFLJK SO MUCH FOR SUMMER LOVE AND SAYING US CAUSE U WERENT MINE TO LOSE!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TAYLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is one fo her best songs ever EVER OMG AND THE BACKING VOCALS AT THE END AHH AND THE BEAT DROP TAYLOR WHAT THE FUCK YOU’VE OUTDONE YOURSELF A G A I N ??? IM NEVER GONNA RECOVER FROM THIS FUCK

This is me trying

Firstly, this song title is such a mood, especially this year. The beat in this song s so good - THIS SICK BEAT. AHH THERE IS THS COOL INSTRUMENT IS IT A VIOLIN IDK BUT I LOVE IT OMG. ‘THEY TOLD ME ALL OF MY CAGES WERE MENTAL SO I GOT WASTED LIKE ALL MY POTENTIAL AND MY WORDS SHOOT TO KILL WHEN I’M BAD I HAVE A LOT OF REGRETS ABOUT THAT II WAS SO AHEAD OF THE CURVE THAT THE CURVE BECAME A SPHERE I FELL BEHIND ON MY CLASS LATE UNTIL I ENDED UP HERE POURING OUT MY HEART TO A STRANGER BUT I DIDNT POUR THE WHISKEY! Oh god the ‘AT LEAST IM TRYING’ MAAAAM. THAT LAST VERSE FUCK FUCK FUF ASJDO FUCK THE BUILD UP. Listen I don’t know what the fuck this song is about but I do know that I love it I ADORE IT I FEEL LIKE EVERY SONG IS BETTER THAN THE LAST WHAT THE FUCK

Illicit affairs

I’m so intrigued by the title of this song! I LOVE the guitar in this song omg it’s so soft and wistful? IT DIES A MIIIILLIOON LITTLE TIMES……….. I love the little falsettos, that you picked out just for HIM! Take the words for what they are, a dwindling mercurial HIGH a drug that only worked the first few hundred times AND THAT’S THE THING ABOUT ILLICIT AFFAIRS AND CLANDESTINE MEETINGS AND STOLEN STARES they show their truth one single time BUT THEY LIE AND THEY LIE AND THEY LIE A MIILION LITTLE TIMES. LOOK AT THIS IDIOTIC FOOL THAT YOU MADE ME YOU TAUGHT ME A SECRET LANGUAGE I CAN’T SPEAK WITH ANYONE ELSE and you know damn well for you I would ruin myself a million little times. Holy fuck I have 0 words this is. Unbelievable it’s sunning I LOVE the bridge? I?

Invisible string

Oh lord I am not ready for this one. I love the way she sings the pre chorus! Were the CLUUUES I didn’t see—ee-ee. Omg this song is actually so cute. CHAINS AROUND MY DEMONS? WOOL TO BRAVE THE SEASONS? HOW THE FUCK DID SHE WRITE THIS IT’S SO GOOD IM SPEECHLESS also I LOVE the strings in this song, I love the production of this entire album tbh. It’s so chill and stripped back and it makes you focus on her vocals which sound soooo good.

Mad woman

TAYLOR SAID FUCK TAYLOR SAID FUCK TAYLOR SAID FUCK IM LIVINNGGGGG. ANYYWAY I LOOOVE THIS IM DIGGING ITTT I LOVE THE CHORUS EEEEK. the second verse omg I love the anger, the bitterness, you can HEAR it in her voice! It’s obvious that wanting me dead has already brought you two together??? EEK THE BRIDGE a spinster? What a shame she went mad… YOU MADE HER LIKE THAT OMG BITCH

Epiphany

Omg the intro build up - I love it. This sounds like a church choir? Is this about a soldier in war? What? It reminds me of Dunkirk or something omg. This is again so haunting, very slow and the piano only adds to the somber tone

Betty

WHO? IS? BETTY??????? Oh hey this is a gentle intro with this instrument that sounds familiar but idk what it is but I love it. I love the melody in this omg! SHE SAID FUCK AGAIN SHE SAID FUCK AGAI NOGAS JDFHLDSDKFLD TAYLORRRRRR WOULD YOU TELL ME TO GO FUCK MYSELF??? IM ONLY 17 I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING BUT I KNNOW MISS YOU! BITCH!!!!!!!! This is about like a lost first love! Anyway I really looove how her voice sounds in this and the melody…. I DREAMT OF YOU ALL SUMMER LONG OMG THE BRIDGE IS INCREDIBLE!!!!! Omg awww the only thing I wanna do is make it up to you so I showed up at your party?? AHH THE KEY CHANGE INI THE LAST CHORUS EEEEKKKKKK OMGGGGG WILL IT PATCH YOUR BROKEN WINGS I’M ONLY 17 IDK ANYTHING BUT I KNOW I MISS YOU OMG THE REFERENCE TO A CARDIGAN AGAIN!!!!!!!! AND THE STREETLIGHT! IM YELLING I LOVE THE PARALLELS AND THE MOTIFS and you can just hear the childish innocence int his song, I love it

Peace

This intro is SO COOL AND I AM VIBING HARD TO IT, I LOVE THE GUITAR IN THE BACKGROUND? Ok oh god I really like this one. The devil’s in the details but you got a friend in me I— THIS CHORUS IS AMAZING I ADORE IT. Omg this might be one of my favourites. Holy fuck I cannot get over how good the lyrics in this album are!!!!!!! I TALK SHIT WITH MY FRIENDS IT’S LIKE I’M WASTING YOUR HONOUR! Sit with you in the TRENCHES? Omg! WHAT IS THIS ABOUT I AM YELLING!!!!!!!!! ‘Clowns to the west’ oh hey that’s me. EEK THE SOFT KEYBOARD IN THE BACKGROUND - YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hoax

Last song? Ma’am I am not ready!!!!!!!!! THE PIANO IN THIS OMG. The chorus….. it’s beautiful……….. YOUR FAITHLESS LOVE’S THE ONLY HOAX I BELIEVE IN OH MY GODDDD. I’m yelling I love this so much. I loooove the angst of the chorus, the resignation that this is the one love she wants, even if it’s faithless! ‘You know I left a part of me back in New York’… THE LOUIS TOMLINSON PARALLEL DAFJKHASFKADS (I know you left a part of you in New York). ‘What you didd was just as hard’ omg what did he doooo?? MY KINGDOM COME UNDONE AHHHHH YOU HAVE BEATEN MY HEART! WHY IS THIS SONG SO BITTERSWEET IM ???????

#leanne speaks #folklore #folklore lb

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stereostevie · 4 years

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A brutal childhood, a traumatic marriage, decades of racism: the singer has overcome it all on her way to the top. She lets rip about the people who have wronged her and the self-belief that sustains her.

It is a rainy Thursday afternoon and Mariah Carey is talking to me from her home in Los Angeles, her voice coming through my laptop. Is this the real life or is this just fantasy? (Sweet, sweet fantasy …) “Hello, good morning, good afternoon, this is a little unusual,” says a gravelly voiced Carey. You’re telling me, Mariah.

We are talking by video chat, but – as specified by Carey – without the video turned on, so it is pure chat. Despite her ability to hit the high notes, Carey has always described herself as an alto. Yet even taking that into account, her voice today sounds pretty husky. Is she feeling OK?

“It’s 6am here, and I’m awake in the bright light and it’s fabulous and I love it,” she says and makes an exaggerated groan.

I’m sorry you had to get up so early for this interview, I say.

“Well, darling, then let’s not book interviews at 6am if you’re worried! But please, it’s not you,” she says, and indeed it isn’t. The time and date of our interview have moved around so many times to accommodate Carey’s ever-shifting schedule that, for a while, it looked as if it wouldn’t happen at all. But at the last minute, it was decided we would talk at 6am her time, which I was promised would be fine because Carey is a self-described “nocturnal person”, so that would be 6pm for her. Alas, for reasons too complicated to get into, for one night only, Carey was a non-nocturnal person, so now 6am is just 6am.

“Typically I would have been working [all night] until now, but we had a situation and I couldn’t. Then I tried to get some sleep, but actually I watched the interview I did with Oprah. But it’s OK, it was just one night [of no sleep] and here I am,” she says. You don’t become one of the most successful singer-songwriters of all time – she has sold more than 200m records, and only the Beatles have had more US No 1 songs – without being a trouper.

Carey, 50, has spent lockdown with her nine-year-old twins, Monroe, named for Carey’s hero, Marilyn Monroe, and Moroccan, named partly for one of her favourite rooms in one of her houses, the Moroccan room, “where so many creative and magical moments have happened, including Nick presenting me with my candy bling”. Nick is Nick Cannon, the twins’ father, and “candy bling” is Carey’s term for her engagement ring, which Cannon hid inside a sweet before proposing. Carey liked Cannon’s proposal so much that she even wrote a song about it, called Candy Bling. The marriage proved less enduring and the couple divorced in 2016.

“Honestly, I don’t miss anyone outside, so I don’t care about lockdown,” she says with a throaty laugh. “But it’s difficult for the kids, because they’re used to three-times-a-year Disney World moments and stuff like that, and that’s just not the current state of affairs.” It is not. So Carey is conducting the promotional tour for her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, from her kitchen table, and if she has her way – and who would dare to argue? – this will be the last round of interviews she ever does.

“No offence to doing interviews, but what would be the point? I can’t articulate it better than I already have [in the book]. From now on, I’m like, ‘Please refer to page 29,’ you know what I mean?” she says. Carey’s deliciously shady put-downs are legend: her “I don’t know her”, when asked almost two decades ago about Jennifer Lopez is still the internet’s most beloved diss. Speaking of Lopez, her name is notably not in Carey’s memoir. Instead, when recalling the hoo-hah that led to their fallout, when a sample Carey had planned to use on her single, Loverboy, appeared on Lopez’s I’m Real, Carey refers to her as a “female entertainer (whom I don’t know).” So is her official position still that she has never heard of Lopez?

There is a pause, then stifled laughter. “Oh my gosh, can you hear that music in the background? It’s Sam Cooke! It’s fantastic!” she giggles.

Not only has Carey not heard of Lopez, she cannot even hear questions about her, it seems.

Carey’s memoir is about a lot more than score-settling (although she makes time for that, too.) “I don’t think anyone could have known where I was coming from, because I was always very, I don’t know if it was protective, but I was cryptic about the past, let’s say,” she says. No more. The youngest child of an African American father and a white mother, Carey was three when her parents split up. Her childhood was threaded through with neglect and violence, not least from her older siblings. When she was six, she says, her older brother knocked her mother unconscious; when she was 12, her older sister allegedly drugged her and left her with creepy men.

“I think my staying up all night started from having such a dysfunctional family. Oftentimes, whoever was in the house was doing whatever it was that they were doing, and that felt kinda unsafe to me, so I started staying up,” she says. Another legacy of this time is Carey’s obsessive adoration of Christmas, because her childhood Christmases were so miserable. When she wrote the monster hit All I Want for Christmas Is You, she wanted, she says in her book, “to write a song that would make me feel like a carefree young girl at Christmas”.

As a child, her biracial identity made her feel she did not belong anywhere: she was so self-conscious about not being black enough that she wouldn’t even dance, as she associated that with black culture; meanwhile, white girls at school taunted her with the N-word. In one of Carey’s – and my – favourite chapters, she describes how her mother did not know how to look after her young daughter’s textured hair, so it was often matted. Carey would look enviously at the white women in shampoo adverts on TV with their flowing hair. “I am still obsessed with blowing hair, as evidenced by the wind machines employed in every photoshoot of me ever,” she writes.

One of the most painful moments in the book comes in 2001 when Carey is having what the press described as an emotional breakdown. (Carey writes that she did not have a breakdown, but “was broken down by the very people who were supposed to keep me whole.”) During this episode, she rages at her mother, who calls the police. The police take her mother’s side: “Even Mariah Carey couldn’t compete with a nameless white woman in distress,” Carey writes. Is that how she experienced it at the time, or is that how she feels generally, that not even she is safe if a white woman complains?

There is the briefest of pauses. “Those are my words, so please refer to page 29,” Carey says.

Race is very much the running theme in Carey’s memoir. This might come as some surprise to those who know her solely from the mega pop hits such as Hero and We Belong Together, as opposed to the more revealing songs, such as 1997’s Outside, which addressed her feelings of racial ambiguity (sample lyric: “Neither here nor there / Always somewhat out of place everywhere”). “I can’t help that I’m ambiguous-looking,” she says, “and most people would assume that it’s been to my benefit, and maybe it has in some ways. But it’s also been a lifelong quest to feel like I belong to any specific group. It shouldn’t have to be such a freaking thing – and please edit out the fact that I said ‘freaking’. I’m not very eloquent right now.” I ask if she was at all influenced during the writing of her book by the rise of Black Lives Matter. She dismisses the question: “Interestingly, this book predates everything that’s happening now, and the book just happened to be very timely.” In other words, Carey hasn’t caught up to the times, the times have caught up to Carey.

Despite her omnipresence over the past three decades, it is possible that you have not thought about her ethnicity. This, Carey says, has been part of the problem: from the start, she was marketed by “the powerful corporate entities” in a way that played down her racial identity. What made this even more complicated for her was that the most powerful corporate entity in charge of her career at the beginning was her first husband, Tommy Mottola, then the CEO of Sony Music.

Carey’s discovery by Mottola is the stuff of music industry legend. The then unknown aspiring singer gave him a tape of her music at a party in 1988. Mottola tracked her down, signed her and, a few years later, married her. She was 23 and he was 44. Within just a few pages in her memoir, she goes from wearing her mother’s busted shoes to work to living in a $30m mansion with Mottola, which she decorated with enthusiasm: “Though by no stretch do I like a rustic look, I do have a preference for tumbled marble on my kitchen floors,” she writes. Adjusting to the high life was not difficult.

The hits – I’ll Be There, Emotions, One Sweet Day – were unstoppable. The Mottola-Carey marriage did not fare as well, imploding in 1997. Carey expands at some length on her previous allusions to Mottola’s controlling tendencies, claiming he would spy on her and that she was effectively a prisoner in the house. In his 2013 memoir, Mottola admits his relationship with Carey was “absolutely wrong and inappropriate” and adds: “If it seemed like I was controlling, I apologise. Was I obsessive? Yes, but that was also a part of the reason for her success.” Carey points out that she went on to have nine hit albums without Mottola’s controlling obsession. She writes that Mottola tried to “wash the urban” off her, recoiling at Carey’s increasing leaning towards hip-hop and collaborations with African American artists such as ODB. “I believe I said ‘urban, translation black,’ just in case anyone thinks I don’t know,” Carey corrects me. Does she think that was just for commercial purposes, or was something else going on with Mottola? “In my opinion there was a lot of other stuff going on there,” she says.

It must have been pretty upsetting to revisit that period during the writing, I say.

“Yes it was traumatic, but was it harder than some of the other things I’ve gone through? Maybe yeah, actually,” she says with a rueful laugh. “I don’t know if I’ll ever fully recover from the damage of that emotional abuse. But in my school of thought, you have to be a forgiving person.”

Carey is extraordinarily honest in her memoir, but the book is almost as striking for what she does not include as what she does. A lot of attention has focused on her confirmation that she did, as long rumoured, have a fling with the former baseball star Derek Jeter (“I’m not being shady, but he had on pointy shoes,” she recalls a little shadily of their first meeting.) But there is no mention of other boyfriends, such as her former fiancé, the Australian billionaire James Packer.

“If it was a relationship that mattered, it’s in the book. If not, it didn’t occur,” she says.

But you were engaged to Packer, I say.

“We didn’t have a physical relationship, to be honest with you,” she says.

And that is that.

Carey’s singing voice made her famous, but her penchant for being thrillingly, hilariously high-maintenance played its own part in shaping her legend. On an episode of MTV Cribs, she explained that she had a chaise longue in her kitchen because “I have a rule against sitting up straight”, and she has talked about bathing only in milk. Does she think she is high-maintenance – and, if so, does she think it is because she came from nothing?

“You know what? I don’t give a shit. I fucking am high-maintenance because I deserve to be at this point. That may sound arrogant, but I hope you frame it within the context of coming from nothing. If I can’t be high-maintenance after working my ass off my entire life, oh, I’m sorry – I didn’t realise we all had to be low-maintenance. Hell, no! I was always high-maintenance, it’s just I didn’t have anyone to do the maintenance when I was growing up!” she says and cackles with delight.

By now it is almost 7am for her and she is wide awake. I tell her I enjoyed all the references in her book to her enjoying “a splash of wine”.

“Oh, do you? Do you love a splash for yourself?” she asks, pleased.

I do, but I was intrigued by her description of a night out with her friends, including Cam’Ron and Juelz Santana, when they were all “high” on “purple treats”. What were these “purple treats”?

“A legal substance in California known as mari-ju-ana. It’s called purple because that’s the particular weed they liked,” she says.

And did she like it?

“Are you enquiring for yourself or are you asking if I enjoyed it?” she says, mock coy.

I am asking if you enjoyed it, Mariah.

“No, I hated it,” she deadpans, then laughs. “I’m sorry, but it’s obvious!”

I have been interviewing famous people for a long time, but talking with Carey is the closest I have come to how I imagine it would have been to spend time with Bette Davis or Aretha Franklin. There are lots of ridiculous modern celebrities, but Carey is not like that. With her mix of slightly self-parodic ridiculousness undercut with no-messin’, true-to-herself honesty, she is a proper grande dame of the old school. A diva, in other words. It is a term she has laboured under throughout her career, and it is unlikely she will escape it, even if people now finally know where she is coming from. Does she mind the D-word?

“No! Who the fuck cares?” she laughs. “Honestly! ‘Oh my God, they’re calling me a diva – I think I’m going to cry!’ You think in the grand scheme of things in my life that really matters to me, being called a diva? I am, bitches, that’s right!”

The Meaning of Mariah Carey (Macmillan, £20) and The Rarities (Sony Music) are out now.

• This article was amended on 5 October 2020 to clarify that it is in the United States where Mariah Carey is second only to the Beatles in terms of having the most No 1 singles.

#mariah carey #music #culture #pop and rock #soul

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sisullasuohon · 6 years

Photo

Alkuperäinen/Original

Käsilaatat master post

Under the cut is a couple words of interest from this translation and some earlier ones. There’s some talk about government-related benefits again so here’s a tw:politics I guess.

Lumikoto (Snowdin) I’ve translated every other location from the game that has shown up so far into Finnish, so I felt like I shouldn’t make an exception with this one, pun or not. The base word for the translation is ’Lintukoto’, this is an old word for a mythical place that according to Finnish folk tradition exists somewhere south at the edge of the world, where the sky meets the land. Birds would migrate there for winter, hence the ’lintu’(bird) in the word. ’Koto’ part might be related to ’koti’(home), you can see similar form in ’kotona’(at home) and ’kotoisa’(homely), please don’t quote me on that. Also a birdhouse is ’linnunpönttö’(bird’s cylindrical shaped receptable, we don’t really make them look like houses), so it’s not related to ’Lintukoto’. ’Lintukoto’ is still in use in modern Finnish, it’s a figure of speech that means a small and cosy place where nothing bad happens. I replaced the bird with snow (lumi) and I think it kind of works, it’s homely and snow-related, like the original word. I don’t think it counts as a proper pun, but close enough!

Joulu (Gyftmas/Christmas) This was a pagan holiday before Christianity took over, so I see no need to twist its name into a pun like in the game. Asgore being a santa is still hilarious to me from the language pov. ’joulu on jo ovella’(it’s almost Christmas, lit. Christmas is already at the door) is a common phrase that’s also lyrics from one of the most well-known Finnish Christmas songs, ’Joulupuu on rakennettu’.

Kuninkaallinen tutkija (The royal scientist) This was a tough one, a scientist usually translates to ’tiedemies’(science man) and that’s what I used on Gaster’s mug a long time ago. I wont change that because the best translation of ’mad scientist’ I’ve heard is ’hullu tiedemies’, and it’s not like he’d have to have his proper title in the mug. But, since Alphys is one too they need a gender neutral official title. The ones I found were ’tieteilijä’(sciencer), ’tieteenharjoittaja’(practitioner of science) and ’tutkija’(researcher/investigator/examiner/scholar). Out of these the last one sounds most like a real profession, and I found some documentaries where it was used as a title of real people doing science, so I picked that one.

Pelastaa (to save) Finnish verb for saving progress in video games is ’tallentaa’(recording kind of saving, used f.ex. in audiovisual stuff too) or in Finglish ’savettaa’(this is verbified English, it’s only used with games and programs that have a visible English ’save’ function for work and files, not people related). Saving people or things from danger is ’pelastaa’. Some things are just lost in translation, and thanks to that I guess the visual for the Save Point in that panel is even more about being filled with enough determination to save people.

There’s a line missing from Asgore’s first speech bubble. He does not say ’my dear’. Another one that took me a while to decide on... It looks like to me Asgore is visiting to have a work related meeting; He’s in his child-killing outfit, and they only talk about the souls (or that’s the only thing we’re seeing at least). I’m assuming Undyne is an adult here since her armour shows up, so Asgore is her boss right now, despite of what their relationship was in the past or outside work. Finnish equivalent of ’my dear’ would be ’kultaseni’, and that’s not an ok thing for a boss to call their workers. Pet names could be used if you’re making a joke with them, but there’s a huge risk in making the situation very awkward for everyone within hearing range, you’re straight-up publicly belittling the receiver of the endearment right to their face and making them look unprofessional.

The same phrase happened between Toriel and Gaster here, but there I kept the pet name. I don’t think it’s clear if Gaster is working for them yet or not (at least he probably wasn’t during the war since he had stripes), and they talk about baby plans. Now, baby plans should not be mentioned in the workplace until the baby is already very firmly on its way, having been at least three months in the oven. This is for the benefit of the worker as much as for the employer. It’s illegal(*) to fire someone because of a baby, and if something makes forming the babby difficult, the employer has been made aware this person is currently seriously attempting a baby. Knowing a person might be taking a longer vacation in the future, the employer might only give them shorter, less interesting tasks that given enough time will stop them from advancing in their career, despite that the baby might not ever be coming no matter how hard they try. Toriel is the boss in this context, but just talking about baby plans like this feels unnatural to me if this was indeed a work meeting. I’m aware regular social rules do not necessarily apply with monsters but... it’s hard to separate a language from the culture that uses it.

(*) In Finland, everyone physically involved is entitled to a government-supported paid ”vacation” when a new baby comes to the family, women get a longer one than men, and of the time women have four weeks that are mandatory. The monthly benefit is a certain percent (can be up to 90% at least for the first 56 days) of what you’ve earned in work during six months before starting the vacation, if you’ve not earned anything at all it has a minimum that’s about 500€/month according to my calculations. This doesn’t reduce any other benefits you get, along with the baby box the child gets a monthly benefit until they’re an adult that’s about 100€ per child in one family, living costs are looked at separately, etc. While the monthly costs are shouldered by the government, the employer is in a difficult situation during these vacations. They cannot fire the person during so there’s people resources reserved that are idle and not producing anything to the company. They are, however, allowed to hire a stand-in for the duration that they can then easily get rid of when the person on vacation comes back. On the other hand a possibility to give a short chance for a stand-in can lead to the company hiring the stand-in for full time and thus having two capable workers by the time the baby-haver comes back, allowing the company to grow its capacity.

#zarla-s #translated #finnish #suomeksi #handplates #asgore #papyrus #sans #readmore

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evenstevensranked · 6 years

Text

#1: Season 3, Episode 5 - “Band on the Roof”

ANNNND... “BAND ON THE ROOF” TAKES THE CAKE!

I cannot believe I’m publishing the #1 ranking. Next month will mark two whole years since I created this blog and now, after countless hours spent on 64 reviews, we’re finally here! Never thought I’d see the day. I never anticipated that I’d be this emotional about it either. I’ll save the mushiness and some final thoughts for the end of the post.

When The Twitty-Stevens Connection gets back together, Tom shoots a documentary -- excuse me, “rockumentary” -- detailing the highs and lows of the band’s reunion! What we get is a rollercoaster of an episode featuring (almost) all of our favorite characters, the most legendary quote in the entire series, a mockumentary approach to filming that was ahead of its time, a heartwarming plot for our two main siblings, and one hell of a catchy song to boot.

For the last time...

Let’s get into it!

I know I throw the word "Iconic" around loosely sometimes but this is genuinely an iconic episode for the series. I feel like everyone remembers this episode. Even if you didn't watch the show too often, you still remember this episode. This one kinda makes me wish that Even Stevens was one of the first popular American comedy sitcoms to pioneer the mockumentary style gimmick for the entire series. (i.e. The Office, Modern Family, Parks & Rec) Because it works here. Really well. I’ve mentioned a few times before that The Office is my other all-time favorite comedy show, so I absolutely ADORE those strong vibes here.

According to Wikipedia and their list of “Mockumentaries” (which includes this episode!) -- as far as the genre in television goes, it seemed to become a big thing in the UK first and then spread to places like Australia and Canada. The United States mockumentary television format boom started in the early-mid 2000s, specifically at or around 2003 with Arrested Development and then in 2005 with the humble beginnings of The Office. "Band on the Roof” premiered in 2002. Hmmm. Very interesting! Not sayin’ Even Stevens was ahead of its time once again but that’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s almost like this show trial-runs ideas before they take off. First with “Influenza” and then this. Even though this episode was definitely more of a spoof of VH1′s “Behind The Music,” it still totally falls into that mockumentary TV category.

It opens with the introduction to the documentary, narrated by Tom in a super unnaturally deep voice with a little reverb slapped on there for dramatic effect: “First, there was The Alan Twitty Project... Then, there was The Louis Stevens Experience... The coming together of these two musical forces begat the supergroup The Twitty-Stevens Connection! ...But the band broke up temporarily when bassist Artie Ryan’s mom made him take pottery lessons.”

Tragic.

Tom introduces himself as “Thomas Gribalski: Rockumentary Filmmaker.” Wow, he’s wasting no time loading up his IMDb page. You document one Junior High band and it’s all uphill from there. He goes on to explain that when The Twitty-Stevens Connection got back together, Louis Stevens asked him to capture those “little moments” for them to look back on once the band becomes “rich and famous.” But, of course, no road to stardom is without its bumps.

I wanna know how Tom, a 14-year-old, got this swanky studio to record in...

It cuts to band rehearsal in the Stevens basement where they’re jamming to “Crazy” from the Battle of the Bands episode!! Everything’s fine until the band randomly stops playing in the middle of the song and Louis goes off on a never-ending drum solo that he refers to as “a groove.” It always bothered me how the music just… stops. Why did everyone but Louis decide to stop playing for seemingly no reason?! Whoever was in charge of audio here couldn’t be bothered to make it sound more organic lol. It’s really weird and abrupt. Sorry for the nitpicking there.

I love how Tom got that shot of a messy hamper in the foreground. It really amps up the grittiness.

It’s pretty great how Louis subtly changed roles from the band’s manager to the band’s drummer. For once, this was an arc in Season 3 that actually aired in the correct order. In Episode 2, Louis became interested in playing the drums and was gifted a drumset. In Episode 4 he started taking lessons, and here in Episode 5, he’s officially the drummer of the band. Shia is playing for real here as well! So that’s very cool.

While Louis is drumming his lil heart out during his self-indulgent extended solo, it cuts to shots of everyone killing time and I love it.

Tom, lol.

Ren eventually rips the drumsticks out of Louis’ hands and the two start arguing. Tawny reminds them that they promised to get along if the band got back together. Just then, we hear that shrill, annoying and unmistakeable voice chime in: “Can I say something?” The camera searches around until it lands on Beans just chilling there like he owns the place. Oh my god.

Louis: “Where is he? BEANS! HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!?!” -- Why is that mockumentary style sooo funny though?! The shaky camera looking around and zooming in is what makes this.

I seriously wish every episode was filmed this way. But honestly, just getting this liiiittle glimpse into what a mockumentary version of Even Stevens might’ve been like is enough to make me feel #blessed. If a reboot ever happened, I’d definitely looove to see it reborn à la Modern Family for at least an arc or one special season. I know the gimmick is a little outplayed at this point but I mean, the Stevens are an eccentric enough family for a documentary crew to follow! Am I wrong?! All of the flagship American mock-doc shows have already ended or are ending soon. The door’s open for a new one. Just sayin’.

It cuts to Louis ranting about Beans in the first interview portion or “talking head” of the documentary. This is the greatest thing. Holy crap. He says: “Beans is like that policeman in Terminator 2, you know who I’m talking about? I swear, he goes liquid! He can fit through cracks in windows... under doors... through little keyholes!!” And right on cue, Beans appears outta thin air -- “I’m hungry. Let’s get a sandwich!” Again, the camera work makes this 10x funnier and Shia’s face is just too good:

Note: “Terminator 2″ is yet another completely solid reference to make!

Something I’d like to point out before I forget: While reviewing the series, I couldn't help but notice that the show could be even funnier if there was no background music all the time. (I tested that theory with this edit and was proven correct, tbh.) If you pay attention.. you'll notice that there's some sort of background music during almost every scene. Sometimes it works if it's heightening a moment or adding some flavor comedically. But during scenes where there’s just dialogue, I feel like it would be much better with silence -- because 1. It's more raw/realistic, and 2. the performances/writing is already so strong, it doesn't need extra sound clogging the material. And that's one of the reasons why this episode is so great! It's dead silent the entire time except for the Twitty-Stevens songs of course and some transitional music for the documentary. I love it.

So, yeah. Turns out Beans is a bassist?! He walks over to Artie and tells him “you’re horrible. Read my lips -- take a lesson!” Artie quits on the spot and leaves in a fit of rage (”I don't have to take this! I’M ARTIE RYAN!”). Beans backs up his insult by showing off his sick bass skillz to the gang, immediately earning himself a place in the band as Artie’s replacement. I love how Beans isn’t even touching the neck of the bass at all at one point. Seems legit.

It cuts to an interview with Artie and it’s so good: “I was thinking about quitting the band anyway. I didn’t like the direction it was going... NOWHERE. Since then, I’ve started my own band. Artie Ryan and the Funky Kats. I had some promotional materials made up!! Tom, you want a free one?!”

Tom (off-screen): “N.. no, thanks.”

Also... A frisbee?! LOL. I had to write out that whole Artie quote because it’s the last we hear from him in this episode and Artie is the best.

Next, it cuts to an interview with Twitty who claims that there was a whole new energy after Beans joined the band. It’s hilarious because Beans is this tiny, annoying 8-year-old, yet Twitty’s talking about him as if he’s some amazingly respected bassist who helped take them to the next level. He goes on to say that the ~revitalized spirit~ Beans brought to the table motivated everyone to work on new material... Including Louis & Ren, who teamed up to write a song together!! Ahh! It shows us the two of them writing out the skeleton of “Another Perfect Day.” I always laughed at how they’re not just writing lyrics like most middle schoolers would do... Nah. They’ve whipped out the staff paper and suddenly know music theory like it’s nothing. They’re literally transcribing their ideas by ear. I’m a Berklee grad and I still struggle like hell with theory.

Donnie happens to walk by and notices that his brother and sister are getting along for the first time, like, ever... and calls for Steve and Eileen to come quick and bear witness to it themselves!!

This show throws in some great little lines here and there that are easy to miss sometimes. When Steve and Eileen come running, Steve shouts “Donnie! Hang in there! You still have 5 minutes left on that hot oil treatment!!” thinking Donnie desperately needed help with his hair. HAHA! I never paid attention to that until recently. We get interviews with Donnie as well as Steve and Eileen here.

Donnie: “It was just... the sweetest thing. I wanted to hug them!! But I didn’t wanna ruin my hair. Wait!!! That sounded stupid. Don’t use that, ok?”

Gotta love the trophies as a backdrop lol.

Eileen: “It was amazing! It was as if the music brought them closer together.”

Steve: “Those were the happiest days of our lives. It was bliss! Sheer bliss!”

Hey! This is real stuff, though. Never underestimate the power of music!!

One of the funniest things about this episode is that Tom prefaced the documentary by saying the reunion happened a mere TWO WEEKS AGO! These interviews are so extra, as if they’re recalling something that happened years ago when it literally just happened and is fresh in their memories. It’s great.

We get a voiceover from Tom elaborating on Steve and Eileen’s sentiments, telling us that Louis and Ren had “reached a new level in their relationship” over corny footage of them casually playing freaking cat’s cradle like a couple’a besties! hahaha.

At their next rehearsal, the band starts working on “Another Perfect Day.” Once they have it down pretty well, Louis decides that they have a hit on their hands and need to do something big to get the word out. He comes up with the idea to hold a free concert on the school roof. Twitty interjects “Ya know, that’s not a bad idea because The Beatles did a free concert on the roof once!” Tawny adds: “So did U2!” and Louis finishes: “And now... The Twitty-Stevens Connection.” -- As if they’re anywhere near the level of either of those bands and should easily be mentioned in the same breath. That always cracked me up. (Speaking of The Beatles, the title of this episode is supposed to be a play on the Paul McCartney song “Band On The Run.” Or at least, that’s what I’ve always assumed.) Also, take a look at their single art. Amazing.

Things start to go sour now. Everyone’s on board for the rooftop concert except for Ren. That’s a shocker! She’s totally against the idea. She agrees that free publicity is great as long as you’re not violating any rules. She even double checks with Wexler who confirms that students on the roof is “strictly forbidden.”

At lunch the next day, Louis is super excited about the concert and giving Twitty and Tawny a rundown of his plans to set everything up. He says they should “get there early. Really early. Like... before school starts early” so they can get all the equipment and set it up on the roof. Another little exchange that’s easy to miss here is between Twitty and Tawny. Twitty says: “Sweet. What if we wore camouflage?” And Tawny sarcastically bites back: “That is a brilliant idea. What if we dressed up as giant metal vents to blend in with the roof decor!” HAHAHA. I’m just imagining that in my head right now and all I can picture is them looking like Eric Matthews dressed as a couch. Oh, yeah. They’ll blend in, no problem.

When Ren starts approaching their lunch table, Louis invites her over yelling “Hey, sis!!” Awww. Since we all know that Ren is practically Vice Principal, he asks her for help and advice on how to get up to the roof and such. But then it does a hard cut to Tom:

This needed to be gif’d.

Ren starts blabbing about how they’re forbidden to step foot on the roof and that she got a permit to perform in a public park instead, but Louis cuts her off before she can ramble any further: “Ren. You’re chickening out.” Ren protests and insists that she’s not a chicken and is just being smart about the situation, but Louis ain’t having it and explodes: “JIMINY H. CRICKETS THE THIRD JR., REN!!! We’re not robbing a bank or anything!! We’re singing on the roof!!!"-- I love this so much. He tells her to take a risk for once in her life. But, Ren being Ren, decides that she doesn’t want to get in trouble and essentially quits the band. As Ren storms away from them, Louis stands his ground and shouts at the top of his lungs:

Possibly the single most-quoted quote of the entire series. Actually iconic. I have this quote on my Facebook, it's my © footer quote on this very website, people have used this quote in their high school yearbooks. Yeah. It’s a big deal. Plus, it’s a pretty great quote to live by if you think about it tbh.

Ren leaving the band was only the beginning of their downfall. I love this photo the ‘documentary’ uses to illustrate the in-fighting lol.

There’s super melodramatic music with an ~emotional~ guitar lick playing here. It always gets stuck in my head. I’m humming it right now. As hilarious as the music is, it actually does make me feel a little upset...

And just like the ending of an America’s Next Top Model episode, Ren disappears from this photo of the band:

At home that evening, an instrumental knock-off of “Kiss Me” starts playing in the background of the doc while Ren contemplates the meaning of life. Tom does a voiceover saying that Ren’s decision to leave the band would lead her down a path to “self-discovery.”

She ends up having a heart-to-heart with Eileen about why she’s so reluctant to take risks. We get a glimpse into Ren’s childhood with “home video” showing her being a total caution freak at her 8th birthday party. She ate a single potato chip so she waits an extra 20 minutes before going into the kiddie pool with her friends. I’d like to point out that Young Ren is played by Alexa Nikolas, who would later go on to be a regular on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101.

Eileen assures Ren that she’ll find something worth taking a risk for someday and go for it!

CUT TO THE DAY OF THE CONCERT! Ren’s decision to leave the band causes everyone else to rethink the rooftop performance as well. Twitty decides to back out because he has one too many detentions already and can’t afford another. His initial poor attempt at an excuse plays out in the most hilarious way possible. (”TWITTY, I WROTE THAT NOTE FOR YOU LAST WEEK!”) Tawny just agrees with Ren. She decides it’s not a good idea and peaces out. And lastly, Beans calls at the eleventh hour and says he can’t make it because he has a hamster cage stuck on his head -- which amazingly, is not a lie. In the end, Louis is the last one standing. Or as Tom says, “A man without a band.”

At lunch, the sound of someone drumming starts to fill the air, leaving everyone confused for a minute. It’s Louis, of course. He’s up there drumming away and singing his background vocals alone and fully intends to perform the whole song that way. His determination to continue with the concert as the lone remaining member of the band is so admirable and badass honestly. It really shows how bold he can be and how he’ll always try to see his ideas through. Not only does this highlight Louis’ fearlessness, it also leads to an amazing moment for Ren as a character. As everyone runs to get a view of Louis, Ren starts remembering what Eileen told her. She slowly realizes that this could be her chance to seize the moment.

One by one -- Twitty, Tawny, and Beans join Louis up on the roof! They pick up their instruments and jump right in, each one building and building on the song. All leading up to Ren being the last one to finally run up there as the final piece of the puzzle! It’s a cheesy and predictable climax, but it’s still amazing. Seeing Ren take a chance like that always makes me emotional, not gonna lie. You can FEEL the happiness radiating off of everyone here. It makes me beam every time.

youtube

This gives me legitimate goosebumps. God. Watch this and tell me it isn’t freaking epic and CLASSIC. The final interviews paired with that tasteful background music always tugs at my heartstrings, too.

The gang ends up facing the consequences of their stunt and are punished by Wexler putting them on trash pickup duty. ^ That ending (seen in the video) is probably my favorite Louis/Ren bit ever. Seeing them both secretly admit to the camera that they had a great time together just warms my heart. I love how they say the same exact thing at one point too: “Don’t tell her/him I said that” lol. It’s so simple but so effective and really sums up their relationship. Two siblings who are always at odds, but at the end of the day, they’re family and have that unconditional sib love whether they want to admit it or not. I love the little slideshow of photos from the rooftop gig to wrap everything up.

...and the very last frame of the episode is this picture of THE GREATEST DISNEY CHANNEL SIBLINGS OF ALL TIME and it’s so precious. This photo is so genuine. You can tell it captured more of Shia and Christy than Louis and Ren. It's just so nice:

I would have this framed and hanging in my house somewhere if I were them. Wow! Also... What could possibly be a better final shot for the episode that’s concluding my specific project?! Tell me. I’ll wait.

And that’s it.

This is one of those ~special fun plot~ episodes, but it’s not super wacky or zany. Like most of the schemes Louis pulls, they somehow manage to make it seem like a couple of middle schoolers could successfully put on a school rooftop performance like this irl. There’s super solid humor, great dialogue, some incredible character moments and plenty of heart to top it all off! It ends on such a satisfying and happy high note. And even though I prefer Comedian Louis over Musician Louis, this episode is just too damn fun for me to care. It sort of benefits from the “Influenza” effect. If you add a song to an episode, odds are it’ll automatically make it that much more memorable. The only difference between this episode and “Influenza” is that it has a lot more going for it story-wise.

This episode has everything for me. The way it's filmed is unique to every other episode in the series. The humor is extra dry and a little different for the show here, but still feels very distinctly Even Stevens and stays true to what we love about the show. This episode includes practically every major character, too! Let’s round up everyone who makes an appearance here: Louis, Ren, Twitty, Tawny, Tom, Beans, Steve, Eileen, Donnie, Coach Tugnut, Principal Wexler, and even Artie Ryan! My only complaint is that Larry and Ruby should’ve made appearances. Like, just a little scene of Larry taunting Ren about not having the guts to go up on the roof or something would’ve been cool.

Just adding some extra photos from the episode to break up this sea of text.

This is the only episode other than the finale that actually manages to make me shed a tear. But the tear this episode squeezes outta me has more meaning behind it imo. In the finale, I’m pretty much solely crying over the resolution to the Louis/Tawny saga and the fact that it’s the last episode of the series. Here, I’m crying over the pure relationship between brother and sister (the root of the show) as well as the gang’s friendship. No other episode gets me in my feelings like that across the board. It honestly feels like a finale in its own right and I can’t think of a better one to wrap up this countdown with.

Is this the best episode of Even Stevens? You tell me. Is it one of the most memorable, iconic, hilarious, unique, and feel-good episodes of Even Stevens? Absolutely. Is there even a way to determine what episode is "objectively" or scientifically proven to be the best? lol who knows! If there's anything this whole project has taught me, it's that perhaps this show is just so good, there simply is no "best" episode. In which case, this whole blog has been a complete waste of time.

SIDE NOTE: It was brought to my attention that this episode shares similarities to a Saved By The Bell episode titled “Rockumentary.” While the overall outline is pretty dead on (the rise, fall, and rise again of a garage band) the actual episodes themselves are extremely different. Annnnd Even Stevens did it better. No surprises there. So, WHO CARES?!

Aside from this being my personal favorite episode of the series and meeting my ranking requirements, I have a few little bonus stats to back up my decision to deem "Band on the Roof" worthy of the top spot:

It's the highest rated episode of the entire series on TV.com, boasting a 9.6, which I wasn’t aware of until a few days ago and was honestly surprised.

Back in 2003, while the show was still popular/on-air, some fans held a march madness style poll for the Best Episode of All Time and "Band on the Roof" was the winner.

This episode has popped up on various nostalgia articles as one of the greatest in the series. One of my favorites is by a published author and screenwriter in the biz who also ranked it #1 on her Top 7 favorite episodes of Even Stevens list. [article]

In the comments of this episode on YouTube, (which I probably should’ve saved before Disney recently deleted the video... ugh) the general viewer consensus was that it's a widely beloved episode and one of the greatest/solidly written/most memorable. Easily Top 3 or Top 5 in the opinion of others.

I've gotten quite a few comments across the socials for the blog from readers asking about where this episode will be ranked and/or simply randomly stating that ‘Band on the Roof’ is the greatest and iconic.

Basically, there is massive love for this episode. No matter what, there’s a good chance you'll consistently see this one mentioned as one of the best or at least in someone's personal favorites -- Myself included. Obviously, me being a musician and loving the mockumentary style/drier humor here has contributed tremendously to my favoritism -- but the general fan love and praise, mixed with the actual solid content of the episode, makes me feel like ranking it #1 is justified. As objective as I tried to be throughout this process -- I created Even Stevens Ranked to get some personal thoughts and opinions out of my system. Well, that, and to do my best to highlight how fantastic this show is. Please remember, at the end of the day, this is my list. So. :)

Now that I’ve finished the project, I’m honestly quite satisfied with the outcome here. Not only am I so unbelievably proud that I actually saw this thing through to the very end -- I feel like my Top 10, in particular, (or the Top 25 on a larger scale) is the most solid crop of episodes I could’ve ever come up with. I think they all include nice and important moments for all of the characters, some of the strongest humor, and capture the spirit of the show the best. They’re objectively pretty darn good ones to subject a newbie to if ya ask me!

This project was extremely difficult. It was time-consuming and stressful, but it was also such a blast and only solidified Even Stevens as my favorite show of all time in my heart even more than it already was. When I started, I always knew that “Band on the Roof” would be #1, “In Ren We Trust” would be dead last, and “Influenza” would be #15, but other than that I made countless changes to the list as I went on. The closer I got to the end, I was worried that I’d look back and hate my list, but I’m so relieved to feel very confident in my final decisions and reasons for those decisions. If there’s anything I’d change, it’d probably be to rank “Stevens Manor” sliiiightly higher. But still, I don’t even wanna say that because I have no real problem with placing it at #17. It’s not a bad slot. As I’ve said many times, anything in the Top 25 is pretty much top notch to me.

So... What else is there to say? Here we are. 65 episodes down. 0 to go. The entire series ranked and reviewed. Mission accomplished. From the moment I posted my very first review, I always hoped I’d make it to this point but for whatever reason, I never thought I actually would. I talked about this a little bit when I hit my one-year milestone. Milestones like that are what kept me going, though. Even the littlest ones. I’ll seriously never forget when I completed 5 reviews and hit #59! It felt like the greatest accomplishment ever. And so on and so forth...

For years, I felt like I was some weird, lone fan of this show. I thought that maybe 5, 10 people tops, would care enough to read this blog. I am shocked at the decent following Even Stevens Ranked has garnered over the last two years across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and right here on Tumblr. My strange urge to rank and review every episode of this fantastic show has somehow turned into a ~community~ that is 1k+ strong if you combine all four social accounts. That is staggering. Meeting other fans of the show through this blog has been so, so awesome and I plan on keeping Even Stevens Ranked alive because of that. I can’t just leave it behind. I have some cool ideas moving forward, including a pending podcast. :D

I can’t thank you enough if you’ve actually bothered to read even just one of my reviews and found it the least bit interesting. We went on this weird little journey together. So thank you! Truly.

I’ve completed what I initially set out to do, but you can definitely expect a bonus video review for a change of The Even Stevens Movie sometime in the near future. I mean, how could I do a project like this and NOT discuss the big finale film?!

Just a reminder that there’s a Twitty-Stevens Connection design up on Redbubble! Available in black text and white text.

Thank you sooo much for reading. You know the drill! Please, journey into the Disqus comment section below if you’re so inclined. I’d love to hear any of YOUR thoughts now that this crazy project is complete. Ahh.

- Brittany

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Redbubble

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cocona · 6 years

Note

hey! i wanna at least try to get into kpop, to see what all the fuss is abt, and youre the first blog that comes to mind abt that stuff. do you have any recs!? or comments?? anything really, i'm interested in what you have to say

i have recs!!! first of all ty for asking me abt it hdgfs !! i’ll make u a list !! i will try to stay concise but i have bolded n linked the most important stuff since i tend to blabber a lot! there r groups i purposely didnt recommend! also! i advise you to look up who did what if you want to know why idcs abt certain artists that r big in kpop (like big//ba//ng, su//ju, bl//ock//b, ma//ma//moo & so on) tl;dr: kpop basics (spotify) + @tearera (my kpop sb)

i’ll start w some RECS but jsyk kpop as u might have heard of it is mainly composed of groups! which is why i’ll start w groups then soloists! of course u can check out most of them on spotify (u can listen to their playlist of the most famous songs atm!). please notice that the kpop industry is very ‘classic’ when it comes to concepts (cute r for gorls! badass r for boys!) so um. yeah. yikes. if i had to argue abt all the things i find wrong in this industry this post would become a manifesto, u can always pm me if u want to hear me complain lmao

GIRL GROUPS

honestly…. TWICE are the first one that came to my mind when i thought of ggs to rec. they’re a 9 member group labelled under jyp entertainment n have debuted in 2015 with the bop like ooh aah… that u can listen to! their genre is mainly cute songs but dont be fooled!! they have extremely powerful songs & lyrics as well! some good starts with their music are LIKEY (2017, a bop, great melody, great rapping, one of their ult feel good songs, played @ the olympics), TT (2016, queens of halloween!), and also their most recent song WHAT IS LOVE (2018, iconic!! gay!! bop!! sweet!! great album!!). as twice are the kind that can set you off by their cuteness and playful vibes, i recommend you to check out some of their side tracks. personality wise, the girls r very fun and sweet! they’re all angels and i love them all THIS MUCH!! if u want to know, sana & dahyun r my favourite members!

also queens, but from sm entertainment this time, Red Velvet are a 5 member gg who have debuted in 2015 with the song Happiness (at that time they were only 4 but the youngest member, Yeri, joined later on!). some very famous songs of theirs are… basically all their title tracks but i’d mainly recommend Russian Roulette, Dumb Dumb (also my fave rv music video!!), Peek-a-boo (what’s better than lesbians witches slaying men and eating pizza), Bad Boy (honestly… one of their best songs… title track of their repackaged album…good shit if u will). of course! there are some side tracks i will recommend! i will frankly say that i listen to a lot of their music and they’re my favourite musically! some faves in no particular order are automatic, cool hot sweet love, huff n puff, something kinda crazy, about love, kingdom come, little little and talk to me! they have very versatile genres and have two main themes of music, the red and the velvet, though these mix often! rlly! their music really good. they have amazing choreographies too!!!!

the third gg i will rec are one that have not debuted yet, it’s LOONA! get ready bc they are a 12 member group with one girl for every month. each girl was revealed every month staring from 2016 with a single album composed of one song and one side track that usually features another member! as this group has yet to debut, i cannot show you anything with all twelve members but! they work with units, there are three: loona 1/3, odd eye circle, and yyxy (tune in for their debut scheduled for may!) that each have an album. 1/3 r more of a cute girly concept, while odd eye circle have played strongly on the girl crush & rnb concept. we have yet to see what yyxy has for us n im frankly v excited!!! my fave singles are Around You (hyunjin), Let Me In (haseul), Singing in the rain (jinsoul, best girl), Eclipse (kim lip), and Heart Attack (by chuu!! also best girl). they have already released a lot of music so go ahead & listen to it! their music videos have a plot and it’s one of those theories fandom (loonaverse)! the positions that all the members will have wasn’t been revealed yet!

then here’s a list of ggs that’s not as detailed bc it would be too long: clc (they r…the girls….), exid (vocals, social criticism, sexy), blackpink (5 songs out but theyre all top notch), f(x) (v good music! bring them back from the war), gfriend (cute & refreshing concepts! v tight choreographies! sweet girls!), aoa, & many more! groups i dont rec bc i dont stan but that u should know of: snsd, 2ne1; that have disbanded but shouldnt have: sistar

BOY GROUPS

ok i stan two boy groups so that’ll be quick! i’ll also rec plenty of music!

the main group i stan is BTS aka the bangtan boys and yes… they’re everywhere… they deserve it tbh… so theyre a 7 member boy group and they’re the first kpop group i ever stanned! they have released a lot of songs already but i’ll just mark something! bts are known for their cinematography and plot in their music videos as well as their politically/socially engaged songs. they debuted in 2013 with the youth-conscious song no more dream and um. forget the mv. the message is what’s important. secondly! my favourite eps & albums are DARK&WILD (forget abt war of hormone), The Most Beautiful Moment in Life pt2, WINGS, and Love Yourself 轉 Tear (which will be released on May 18th so stay tuned!). here’s a beginner’s list to bts & their music videos: spring day, blood sweat & tears, run, fire, i need u, and intros: singularity, serendipity. i cannot recommend bts songs bc i’d be unable to pick some, but here is my bangtan favourites playlist and spotify’s This Is BTS! n their most known song atm, still on charts, DNA. another thing!! they dabble in a lot of genres! there is a constant symbolism in most of their songs and music videos, which is why there are theories! also, here are my fave choreos (x x x) & non-official releases (x x x)! also! j-hope recently released a mixtape! check it out! it’s v good! the bad thing is that the fandom is massive n it is filled with young fans so a lot of fan-created content is cringey. apart from that! theyre lovely as a band n i’m not ashamed to say that they bring me most of my joy these days!

then there is… NCT. ok, let’s dive into them. nct is the acronym for Neo Culture Technology, they’re currently an 18 member boy group but hey! don’t be scared! they too work in units and have only released one song which features all 18 of them! it is likely that the band will expand later on & that the name NCT will become a brand (like akb48 u know). so far! there are three units! NCT DREAM (based on age, with the youngest members who r still minors), NCT U (the first unit to have debuted, aka nct united, a rotative unit with no fixed genre or members list) and NCT 127 (seoul based unit, fixed, with 9 members). they’re known for their experimentative and diversified sound, which goes from ballads to… this. while each unit have their distinct genre and vibe, they’re all under the same label of nct! and um, check out spotify’s nct playlist if u want! here r some songs that are basics! bolded r the faves! jsyk i hated their music & their clothes @ first bc it’s so unique so dw if u dislike them!

127: cherry bomb, limitless (gross hair but spectacular song), touch, back to u, 0 mile, sun & moon, angel

dream: my first and last, we young, go, dunk shot, trigger the fever, la la love

u: the 7th sense, boss, baby don’t stop, without you, yestoday

solo tracks/sm station: dream in a dream & new heroes (ten), around (taeyong)

the last group i’ll present in length n that u should know about is SEVENTEEN. they’re a 13 member boy group & work in units as well but mainly promote w all the members! they’re the fun, sweet, talented, heartfelt refreshing boys we all love tbh! so! seventeen debuted in 2015 with the bop adore u and since then it’s been great song over great song… they also have great choreos! they’re the easiest group to listen to imo bc their songs are mostly light and very similar to what you can hear on teen top radios! then, they get stuck in your head very easily! here are some songs u can listen to that will make your day! mansae, very nice, pretty u, clap, don’t wanna cry, change up, n there are many more! some of my faves are when i grow up, trauma, still lonely, rocket, crazy in love, lean on me, and uhgh rlly all of their songs tbh! three units better known as teams: hip-hop, performance and vocal, with a leader in each. they put up great performances!!

then there is shinee, mostly nicknamed the kings of kpop, i’d make a very long desc but! i suggest you to see for yourself as the fandom is v helpful!

here are some boy groups that i rec but wont go in length with: pentagon (i stan!), monsta x (edm, powerful dances), shinee, exo (great vocals, great choreos, v good music), astro (bubblegum but v heartwarming! vocals), day6 (rock band, great songs), wanna one & many more! rlly um bgs arent the thing that’s lacking in kpop!

a bit in the middle: KARD (mixed group!!! great music & genderless, breaking the usual hardcore is for boys & cutesy is for girls concept)

SOLOISTS

more of a solo person? check out artists like hyuna (ex member of both wonder girls & 4minute), iu, heize (a personal fave!), sunmi (ex member of wonder girls), taemin (member of shinee), amber liu (current member of fx! also released a mixtape recently!) hyolyn or dean… tbh there r many! these r just the ones i can think off the top of my head! theyre honestly easy to listen to so just look up their names on yt & u should find some good things!

if u read all of this!! uhh kudos to u!! it was v long n i didnt expect it to be that long!!

#i rlly...didnt want it to be long jsdghs i should just have made u a google doc n u could have checked it out #i hope im not too late n that u didnt forget abt this n exposed my kpoppie ass #i'll update the spotify playlist asap !!!#ily n i hope u had a great day!! there are some amazing songs out there even if some r cheesy or repetitive! i hope u find ur way through!#if u ever decide to start looking into a group in particular of course!!!#feel free to ask me more if u want more info !!!!!!!!!!!#k-pop #kpop #💌#p.

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theginia · 7 years

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for the fluffy ignis prompts how about brotherhood era ignis working himself into the ground basically (i imagine he's v hypocritical about self care) and any or all of the bro (your choice) taking care of him. idk after the trailer i really want someone to take care of ignis but in a low stakes environment ya feel?

Thedigital numbers on Ignis’s alarm clock flick to 5:00am and on cue incessantbeeping shatters the silence of his small apartment.

Witha jolt the eighteen-year-old Chamberlain sits up in bed, a hand coming downautomatically to flick the silence button on the alarm. He sighs, shoulders slumping beneath thesuffocating weight of expectation and duty.

Mechanicallyhe pushes himself out of the bed he’d only collapsed into a mere three hoursago. The reports that he spent half the night compiling and summarizing areneatly stacked upon his desk, though, and the sight of them fills him withmingled pride and exasperation. Pride at his ability to consolidate a mountainof needlessly verbose documents into a sleek and streamlined packet that fitseasily into a small folder. Exasperation at the knowledge that there is a roughly3% chance that Noctis will do anything more than glance at the documents hecarefully prepared, shuffle some of the pages so that it looks like he wentthrough them properly, and then abandon them on the coffee table to be buriedbeneath a mountain of candy wrappers and comics.

Heremembers being told that he is to be the pillar that will support Noctis wherehe is weakest. Lately it feels like Noctis is weak in every aspect of hisduties, and Ignis is being ground down into a fine powder beneath the weight ofNoctis’s demands.

Sighinghe pads into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and fix himself a bowl ofcereal. Moping will serve no purpose other than to take up more of his valuabletime and he cannot afford that. He’s barely scraping together a few hours atthe end of a workday to sleep as it is, and he’s lucky to steal a few minutesbetween appointments to inhale a protein bar or down a mug of coffee. He needsto run his day like a well-oiled machine if he has any hope of performing hisduties to the standards expected of House Scientia. Not working himself intothe ground is a distant secondary consideration as well.

Theday begins like so many others. He readies himself quickly, slipping into aneatly pressed suit, grabbing his briefcase and a thermos of coffee on his wayout the door. He has to stop at tailor’s to retrieve a new uniform jacket forthe Prince, since he noticed that His Highness is showing far too much wrist atthe cuffs. Then it’s off to the Prince’s apartment to prepare a far moresubstantial breakfast than his own and clean up whatever mess thesixteen-year-old managed to make since Ignis left last night before getting himbundled off to school in his new jacket. Then a morning full of Councilmeetings, an audience with the King afterwards, a meeting with Cor regarding theCrownsguard training he hasn’t had time for lately, another Council meetingwhich he will need to excuse himself from early to pick Noctis up from school.If he’s lucky he can get in a few minutes of studying while he waits in the car,and then it will be off to a private tuition session with the Prince, followedby helping him with his homework while also again attempting to steal a fewmoments to glance over his own textbooks. After that he imagines Noctis willrelocate to the couch to play games while Ignis cleans the apartment andprepares dinner. Afterwards he will return to the Citadel just long enough toretrieve a copy of the minutes for the meeting he left early so that when he’sup until midnight summarizing his notes for Noctis he can also review those andadd them to his summary if they prove to be relevant.

Andthen lather, rinse and repeat with little changing day to day other than thespecific subject of a meeting or tutoring session, or whether it’s Cor, Clarus,His Majesty or some other official who monopolizes his lunch hour. The lyricschange but the tune remains the same as his mother was fond of saying.

Theday passes much as expected, in a haze of exhaustion with the occasional momentof coffee-fuelled alertness. Anyone else would have been alarmed by the weak,trembling feeling in his hands, and they would have noticed the dark shadowsinvading his field of vision, dimming and erasing the edges of his world.Anyone else would have gone home and gone to bed long before what happened toIgnis happened to them.

Igniswatches in the rearview mirror as Noctis slowly makes his way towards the sleekblack Crown-issued sedan. The Prince moves with an unhurried stride, his nosean inch away from his phone screen, presumably texting Prompto or playing oneof those mobile games that Ignis fails to see the appeal in. A tiny voice inthe back of his mind implores Noctis to hurry up – they’re already behindschedule, Ignis was a few minutes late picking him up from school thanks tonearby road construction and detours, and they will only fall further behind asthere’s no way to avoid it en-route to Noct’s apartment.

Whenthe Prince is finally within range of the car Ignis unbuckles his seatbelt andopens the car door, moving with fluid grace to the rear passenger door, openingit for his Prince with a modest bow.

Or atleast he intends to.

Hedoes manage to get the door open, and Noctis is about to slide onto the paddedleather seat when Ignis suddenly wobbles in place. As if in slow-motion he seesthe ground swirling before his eyes, rising steadily to meet his suddenly numbbody.

It’sonly when he hits the asphalt with a sickening thump and a jolt of agony thathe realizes that the ground didn’t move, but rather he fell face first at hisPrince’s feet.

Thelast thing that he remembers hearing is the Prince’s startled cry of “Specs?!?”before his senses fade into the merciful oblivion of unconsciousness.

Athrobbing pain and a bone-deep ache greet Ignis when he eventually surfacesinto the world of the conscious. Eyes closed, he carefully takes inventory ofhis injuries. Nothing seems to be broken, probably just scraped and bruised.The worst damage has likely been done to his pride.

“Youwith us there, Specs?”

Tiredgreen eyes slowly open, and a blurry black and white image slowly coalescesinto an upside-down view the Prince’s features, peering worriedly down at him. Ittakes him a few moments to realize that the soft, lumpy something cradling hishead is the prince’s lap.

Mortifiedand ashamed at using his Crown prince in such an undignified manner he attemptsto right himself. “Apologies, Highness,” he murmurs in a voice made flimsy withweakness. “Please allow me to-.”

“Shutup,” Noctis snaps and Ignis goes stiff with alarm. Is Noctis angry with him? Hehas every right to be, of course. All he had to do was pick him up from schooland drive him home. It’s a simple enough task that almost anyone could do, yethere he lies, a broken failure of a Chamberlain.

Ahand drifts into Ignis’s field of vision and for a confused second he wondersif Noctis is about to strike him – which would be grossly out of character forthe Prince, but then again passing out on the job is grossly out of characterfor Ignis. Instead though all he feels is a soothing brush of fingertipsagainst his brow, combing through tangles of fine sandy hair.

“Justlie there quietly, ok? Gladio’s on the way,” Noctis says, his tone soft,tremulous with obvious concern.

Ignishums in quiet acknowledgment and closes his eyes.

Hemust have drifted off again because the next thing he knows he’s laid out atopa marvellously soft bed that feels more like a bed of candyfloss than amattress, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. It’s familiar, he realizes aftera moment. He’s just not accustomed to viewing it from this angle, sprawled onhis back. He’s in the guest room of Noct’s apartment, where Prompto usuallystays. There’s even a plush chocobo next to his pillow from the last time theblonde stayed the night.

Hecan hear soft voices drifting down the hall from the next room.

“Ididn’t know, how was I supposed to know? No one ever tells me these things!”

“What,you think the cleanliness fairies come by your place twice a day to pick upafter you? Or the paperwork pixies prepare those reports? Of course it’s Iggy.He does everything for you, on top of his own schoolwork and Crownsguardtraining – which is also for your eventual benefit might I add.”

“I’msorry!” Noct cries, followed by a sharp shushing sound from Gladio.

“Keepit down, Charmless. You’ll wake him. And Titan’s rock hard fucking dick heneeds all the shut eye he can get.”

“Iknow!” Noctis hisses in a furious whisper. “I know that now, okay? I’m sorry. I’lldo better.”

“Goodto hear. Don’t apologize to me, though. Apologize to Iggy when he’s feelingbetter.”

There’sa pause, soft words that don’t quite travel to Ignis’s ear.

“Yeah,he’d like that, Highness. See, it’s not so hard, being considerate of otherpeople, huh?” A sharp smacking sound rends the air and Gladio chuckles. Noctmust have punched him, though obviously not hard, likely not in genuine anger.

Anhour or so later (it’s hard to tell, he keeps drifting in and out ofwakefulness) the door to the guest room creaks open a few inches and a pair ofwide blue eyes peek shyly at Ignis through the gap. Smiling meekly, the young Advisor lifts ahand in greeting before letting his arm flop limply at his side.

“HeySpecs,” Noctis murmurs, opening the door fully and walking into the room. “Howyadoing?”

Elbowsdigging into the mattress, Ignis pushes himself to a partially reclined position.His head spins and he closes his eyes for a moment until the world rightsitself once more.

“Wellenough,” he finally says.

ThePrince moves to sit on the edge of the bed, his pale fingers twisting togetheranxiously. Ignis’s heart jolts at the sight and he forces himself to situpright, blinking away the remnants of exhaustion that still threaten the edgesof his consciousness.

“Hungry…?”Noctis says softly and, misunderstanding it for a request and not a question,Ignis nods and swings his legs over the side of the mattress. “Of course, I’mso sorry, Noctis. What would you like? I’ll make whatever you wish by way ofapology for my earlier failures.”

Noctisshakes his head, a sad smile tugging at his lips. “No, Ignis. Are you hungry?”

Itshouldn’t be a difficult question to answer, but somehow it is. He’s soaccustomed to putting his own wants and even needs aside that he hardly knowshow to gauge his own body’s demands. After a few thoughtful moments heeventually nods.

“Good,‘cause I kinda ordered all of your favourites. Just gimmie a minute to heat itup.”

Warmthfloods Ignis’s exhausted, neglected body. “Highness … Noct. You didn’t have todo that.”

Sapphireeyes roll dismissively. “Considering that you’ve been working yourself into theground on my behalf, Specs, yeah I kinda did. And I need to do a lot more foryou, too.”

Ignisshakes his head slowly.

“Yes,Ignis. I do. Gladio helped me make up a chore calendar so I can keep on top ofeverything around here so you don’t have to. He’ll pick me up from schoolMondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when I have training with him, and he’ll dropme off here afterwards so you’re not running around so much. And, and… I’llstudy with Prompto after school,” at Ignis’s doubtful look he presses on “Noreally. Like actually study. No videogames until we’re done of our homework andeverything, so I won’t need as much help from you.”

“Noctis…”Ignis blinks against the veil of tears obscuring his vision. “What on Eos did Iever do to deserve such a wonderful friend?”

A wetbubble of laughter spills from Noct’s lips. He sniffles, wiping his nose withthe back of his hand. “Don’t be stupid. You’re the best, Ignis. The best. Youdeserve the whole damn world.”

Theirarms tangle together in a tight embrace, neither of them certain who made thefirst move, they simply fall into each other like magnets, only tearingthemselves away from each other when Ignis’s stomach growls, and Noctis,laughingly, heads to the kitchen to heat up the container of tomalley-filleddumplings and wild rice he’d ordered for his friend.

59 notes · View notes

baekbaes · 7 years

Text

coffeeshop au! seventeen (vocal unit)

a/n: these are shorter than I usually write, but if you want a more detailed and a possible love interest for these boys with this au, please feel free to request! I have a general idea for woozi’s part 2, so please be on the look out for that! coffee shop au’s for the performance unit and hip hop units are on the way!!! :) reminder: request box is open! also, the gif does not have the original poster (so pls if you are, then contact me, i’ll give you credit!)

pairing: none genre: fluff warning: none others in the series: vocal unit, hip hop unit, performance unit

jeonghan

cashier jeonghan is secretly annoyed every time owner seungcheol comes through the doors

but is very friendly towards everyone else though

he wants the customers to have the best service

wanted to be one of the baristas but seungcheol was strongly against it

“you can attract people with your face”

is the unofficial manager of the coffeeshop bc seungcheol is literally never there

is literally done with everyone

just wants to go home

deals with everyone’s b s

is extra tired when soonyoung walks into the shop

“i have to deal with this idiot again”

the type of cashier who remembers the orders of regulars

when days are slow, he likes to sleep in the back room and makes jun cover for him

(which makes joshua happy because he can finally be behind the counter)

looks like he hates his job and doesn’t ever want to be here

but he really does love this job & his co workers and the regulars (& even soonyoung bc he doesn’t want to admit it, but soonyoung makes his day entertaining)

he’s sees a lot of stuff that makes him laugh and this job just makes his whole day 10x better

is the type to yell out the orders instead of just writing them down and giving it to the baristas

“one soy vanilla latte!!!”

“hyung, we’re like... right here;;;”

“oNE SOY VANI---”

“OK OK WE GOT IT”

cashier jeonghan looks like he hates his job but in reality, he really loves it (stop being fake jeonghan)

joshua

joshua is a barista but doesn’t have a chance to make coffee bc he’s always put in the front of the store to give out free samples

“your face can attract customers”

(seungcheol knows how to advertise)

but is really shy when passing out free samples

someone complimented on his hair once and he almost dropped the tray

“hyung! i made that tray, that’s precious coffee!!!!” -mingyu

when he does make coffee, he’s decent

not as good as mingyu, but definitely better than jun

cannot do latte art to save his life

has this knack of messing up an order but the customers never complain bc apparently it tastes even better than the original

“he literally poured in like a tablespoon of salt instead of sugar” -mingyu

*proceeds to taste the drink*

“what the heck this is good”

*does the same thing and tries his drink*

“t HIS IS PURE SALT HOW”

i’m telling you, this boy works miracles

a lot of girls like to talk to him while he’s behind the counter

h eh , this boy is way too shy to talk back and seokmin ends up talking to them instead

his face gets red every time he has to take over seokmin’s job bc oh no he needs to t a l k to people

however, at regular customers, this shy persona flies out of the coffeeshop

this boy is w i l d with people he actually knows

jeonghan rolls his eye whenever joshua gets shy bc “this is not how this boy really is”

cracks jokes behind the counter which are actually pretty funny to jun’s, mingyu’s and jeonghan’s surprise

lowkey disses jeonghan’s taste in music with jun and changes the music

basically, barista joshua has two sides: either you get shy schoolboy who’s face is red every time someone talks to him or jokester joshua who cracks corny ass jokes every chance he gets and is sassy

jihoon (woozi)

jihoon’s that customer who always sits in the corner and likes to be alone;; nobody touches that table bc everyone knows it’s hIS table

(but then whenever it’s a slow day, seokmin likes to sit with him and they have these really philosophical talks)

drinks straight black coffee with a straight face

some think that he’s literally done with life but in reality he’s just t i r e d

also likes to talk to joshua and they get along swell

is always writing in his little notebook

it contains his thoughts, random lyrics, his observations

maybe that’s why he likes sitting in the corner????? he’s an observer :o

seungcheol wants him to perform at the open mic night all the time, but he politely refuses every time

shy boy jihoon is a real thing

but then joshua persuades him to perform by offering him free coffee for a week

he instantly says yes bc coffee is expensive and he needs it to function like a proper human being

performs once and everyone literally falls in love with his voice

seungcheol literally be g s him to perform as a regular every friday night and that he’ll pay

he hesitates but ends up saying yes bc hi I’m getting paid and I’m getting free coffee

knows that joshua also plays the guitar, so the two have duets onstage once awhile

which makes everyone fall more in love with the two of them

cue joshua blushing beet red whenever girls go up to him to the counter

jihoon’s unfazed but whenever someone tries to talk to him at his usual spot, he gives short replies, but is slowly starting to open up to people

soon becomes a regular customer there that likes to write random songs with cute tunes

ends up being the coffeeshop’s official performer on friday nights

“but we don’t even open up this late” -jeonghan

“tIME TO MAKE NEW DRINKS!”- mingyu

“I need to get a raise g d i “ -jeonghan

seokmin (dk)

server seokmin is a sweetie

he likes to write cute messages on the cups

“you can do it!”

“carpe diem!”

“good luck on that test!!!!!!”

but how does he know that you have a test that day?

it’s because he seems to know everyone that walks in the coffeeshop

of course he does bc he’s the one that has to give everyone their order

but anyway!

because of this, he pops in to jun’s and jeonghan’s talks from time to time

but doesn’t like to participate frequently though bc the two tend to talk about weird things

if he’s in the mood (which is always), he’ll sing out the order

& if it’s someone’s birthday, he’ll gladly sing for them

everyone’s in awe because his voice is just so beautiful & how is this angel working at a coffeeshop and not having a career as an idol? ? ????

tbh the employee that everyone remembers the most

bc who wouldn’t forget the angel that sings daily?

I sure wouldn’t

& can we talk about his smile?

he makes sure that with every order he gives out, he also gives his smile

and his smile is literally the best thing that you will ever get from this man (aND YOU BETTER CHERISH THOSE 5 SECONDS WHEN HE’S SMILING AT YOU AND HANDING YOU YOUR COFFEE : ) )

even goes out of his way to even bRING your coffee over to you if he sees that you’re too busy in a conversation or studying for an exam

he’s just so sweet; love this boy

seungkwan

customer seungkwan likes to order the hot chocolate because he thinks that coffee is the devil’s drink

likes to sit near the door to greet customers

is the coffeeshop’s unofficial doorkeeper

“you don’t even work here” -jeonghan

manages to put a smile on everyone’s faces

bc he sits at the door, he gets to meet new people every day

and people just naturally gravitate towards him

bc he’s a ray of sunshine & everyone loves him

but real talk here, he’s just a very welcoming and friendly person

he’s a person that loves to meet new people every day and the fact that he’s allowed to do this and not have jeongcheol scold him is a dream come true

people even come to talk to him & they’re genuinely in love with this boy and how bubbly and friendly he is

loves to give out advice and words of encouragement because he hear’s so many stories a day

he just wants to leave a memorable impression on everyone that he meets in the coffeeshop

he’s just hecka cute & deserves the entire world♡

love seungkwan pls

122 notes · View notes

seventeen-scenarios-blog · 7 years

Text

Shit the admins say during DE in Singapore

Diamond Edge in SG was 2 weeks ago but we admins finally got ourselves together to watch our fancams/listen to the audio we recorded, and we noticed that we do say a lot of rubbish, so here’s a list of the nonsense we said during the concert!

Just a quick background: Admin Hoshit and Jihooned were sitting together and Admin Wooed and Scooped were sitting together!

Our hi-touch and Diamond Edge confessions

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD (also setlist may not be accurate)

**please excuse our singlish

PRECONCERT

Jihooned: I’ll hold the Joshua banner cause it won’t break

Hoshit: “what if my bong runs out of batteries and i gotta change during a song lmao wouldn’t that be funny” (HAH FORESHADOWING HAH)

Jihooned: our bongs damn noisy

/Jihoon and Hoshit could not decide between their biases and so chose to buy multiple straps/ the clanking of the bong bongs can be heard all the way from VIP to cat 4

Jun sexily walks up

Scooped & Wooed: “eh who that” “idk” “can’t see leh”

“OH FK” “ITS JUN OMGGG KJDFHALKSJDFHK”

Hoshit and Jihooned: “who’s that ah cannot see”

Jihooned: “is that wonwoo?”

Hoshit and jihooned after realising it’s Jun: “omg jun jun juN jUN JUN JUN JUN JUN”

Junnie: RIP, Birth - 29 Sept 2017 8:12PM. “Jun is beautiful.”

PRETTY U

Jihooned: “SEOKMINNNNNNNNNNN”

Hoshit: “SEVENTEEN SARANGHAE YEPPEUDA”

/Seungkwan’s 4 octave note, Hoshit really loses it, “BOOOOOOOOO SLAYYYYYYY BOOOOOOOOOO”

BEAUTIFUL

Jihooned: If my eyes were a camera, the only thing you’ll see is Seokmin

Hoshit: “look at soonyoung he’s so dumb why do i stan hi- LOOK AT JIHOON HE IS SO DUMB WHY DO I STAN HIM”

ADORE U

Jihooned: I’m tired already

Hoshit: “I’ve been tired since Beautiful, it’s my third time swapping my shake-bong-hand” (wasn’t adore u the 3rd song)

Jihooned and Hoshit; awkward silence: “we are two songs in” “yeah we’re dead”

STILL LONELY

Jihooned aggresively hits Hoshit: THEY DOING BACKPACK DANCE

Hoshit: “I STAN LOSERS”

AJU NICE

/Jihoon appears for his part, parts Seventeen like Moses parting the Red Sea, Hoshit: “FUUUUUUUUUUU- JIHOOOOOOO-” /gets hit repeatedly by Jihooned

SWIMMING FOOL

Scooped: /Zooms in camera/ “WHAt are yOU DOIng on the flOORRrRRrrR?”

Jihooned: /shrieks at chan/

Hoshit: /incoherent mess/ “SOONYOUNG SOO- oh my god i can’t i love him too much minghao help minghao is so cute they are all so cute soonyoung please i-”

Junnie (internally): “I LOVE THIS SONG but damn, i want the waterrrrrrrr versionnnnnnn” :-;

MIDDLE SCHOOL VCR

Scooped: /Sees young seungcheol in a wig/ “OMFG OPPAAAAAA”

Jihooned: SEOKMINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Hoshit: “I LOVE MY SMALL DUMPLING BABIES”

MANSAE

Junnie (internally): “ASDFGJKLL;;; LOOK AT JISOO AND JUN AT THE BACK HAVING THEIR MOMENT AHHHHHH”

Hoshit: “this is their third chorus repetition I love this song but my arms are tired plea- oh for God’s sake it’s another repetition”

BOOM BOOM

Scooped: “NOONA PEI”

Hoshit: “WHY SOONYOUNG SWEAT LIKE HOLY WATER”, a pause, “GIVE ME THAT HOLY WATER BLESS ME SOONYOUNG”

Hoshit and Jihooned: /been practicing for this fanchant since they were born, ready for this moment/ “CHOI SEUNGCHEOL YOON JEONGHAN HONG JISOO MOON JUNHUI KWON SOONYOUNG JEON WONWOO LEE JIHOON SEO MYUNGHO KIM MINGYU LEE SEOKMIN BOO SEUNGKWAN CHWE HANSOL LEE CHAN SEVENTEEN BITNAEJULGE”

Wooed: *fanchanting* CHOI SEUNGCHUL, YOON JEONGHAN HONG JI-- fuck i can’t do this.. Uh.. shit.. JEON WONWOO *more incoherent mumbling*… LEE CHAN SEVENTEEN BITNAEJULGE!

Mingyu & Vernon’s Staring Contest

When Vernon was staring into the camera my soul, Junnie (internally): “Ok it’s official. My bias for Hip Hop Team is Vernon.”

Hoshit: “why does Mingyu look so good whO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT”

Vocal Team VCR

Wooed & Scooped: “Ok time to go toilet” (BRUH WE GONNA GET KILLED HAHHA)

Jihooned: “LEE SEOKMIN STOP IT”

Hoshit: “JIHOOOOOON JIHOOOOOOOOON JIHOOOOOOO-”

WE GONNA MAKE IT SHINE

Jihooned: someone hold me pls

Jihooned and Hoshit, proud mothers shouting for their child: BOOOOOOOO SEUNGKWANNNNNNNNNNNNN BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Wooed: SLAY MY BABY BOO SLAY ALKJFLKAJFLKDA IM SO FUCKIGN PROUD OF YOU MY BROHEREIFPSGJKSJ

Junnie (internally): “YASS JOSHUA YOU LOOK SO TINY IN THE BIG CHAIR WOOHOO”

DON’T LISTEN SECRETLY

Wooed: *trying so damn hard not to sing along BECAUSE THIS IS HER FAVOURITE SEVENTEEN SONG EVER BUT SHE ALSO DOESN’T WANT TO RUIN HER FANCAM WITH HER UGLY VOICE*

Also Wooed after Seungkwan’s part: “I think I am crying” *Proceeds to lean against Scooped’s shoulders being emo af*

Jihooned clings onto Hoshit real tight when Seokmin opens his mouth

Hoshit: Why Jihoon hold mic stand so hot

Jihooned: That’s not a mic stand

Hoshit: Why Jihoon hold towel so hot

Hip Hop Team VCR

Wooed: “THEY ARE SO F***ING KINKY” *erupts in a coughing fit*

Scooped: “rude rude Rude RUde RUDE RUDDDEE R000000000DDDDDD”

Jihooned: “MINGYU HANDCUFF ME PLEASE”

Hoshit: “CHOI SEUNGCHEOL DADDY AF”

Hoshit: “CHOKE ME PLEASE”

ITCH ITCH (언행일치/言行一致)

Scooped: “ITCHY ITCHY”

Scooped: “DIS SO LIT” /Headbangs/

Wooed: Jeon Wonwoo just dabbed he’s dead to me goodbye

Hoshit: “choi sEUNGCHOEL STOP” “why am I not Mingyu biased yet”

CHECK IN

Scooped: “SINGAPORE CITYYYYYYY”

Scooped: “AAAA COUPS HARD RAP COMING ITS COMING OH-F*** OH SHIT OH WOW F***” /dies/

Hoshit: “i hate choi seungcheol”

Performance Team VCR

“HOOOOOOOO”

“SHIT MINGHAO SHIT OMG”

“OH MY GOD”

Hoshit: AH- AH- AH- AH- AH- GODDAMIT CAN THEY LET ME FINISH SCREAMING BEFORE THEY GIVE ME ANOTHER HEART ATTACK”

Jihooned: ChanChanChanChanChanChannnnnnn

Junnie (internally): “bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye”

HIGHLIGHT

Jihooned and Hoshit: “DO WE DO THE OT13 CHANT OR NOT IT’S JUST PEPO” “JUST DO” “SEUNGCHEOL JEONGHAN JISOO JUNHUI SOONYOUNG WONWOO JIHOON MYUNGHO MINGYU SEOKMIN SEUNGKWAN HANSOL CHAN HIGHLIGHT”

Junnie: “CHAN, HIGHLIGHT”

OMG

Jihooned: Why Chan wear crop top

Hoshit: /lost to the war, only knows how to headbang/ “WE’RE GOING UP YEAH OH MY GOD YEAH OH MY GOD”

*Chan attempts a stunt*

Wooed: CHILD CHILD CHILD NO YOU’RE GOING TO HURT YOURSELF BE CAREFUL.

CRAZY IN LOVE

hoshit just dead just rip woojireongi will be the death of her

Jihooned busy switching between Jihoon and Seokmin

Wooed: "OREUM OREUM” *mumbles* (bc she forgot the lyrics)

Wooed: *more mumbling* “BOOO.”

ROCK

Hoshit, still dead dying at the hip thrusts :YOU TAKE ME TO THE TOP AND STRAIGHT DOWN LIKE A GYRO DROP fukin lee jihoon what the heck who allowed him who allowed kwon soonyoung

Jihooned, every time before chorus hits: oh shit oh shit the body roll hold me

CHUCK

/remember the foreshadowing about the batteries THAT IS RIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN; HOSHIT'S BONG BATTERIES DIED AS CHUCK CAME ON; cue hoshit desperately trying to change batteries to the beat of chuck while screaming CHUCK CHUCK BRR CHUCK

MY I

Scooped: “Will this be Korean or Chinese”

Wooed: “idkidkidkidk”

Wooed: “AAAAA ITS KOREAN ITS KOREAN KASJB AKJSDK”

Scooped & Wooed: /dies at Minghao’s flip/

Jihooned & Hoshit: korean korean korean korean korean /waits expectantly for the first word/ YASSSSSSSS KOREANNNNNN

Hoshit: “minghao bb i would like to see your tattoo when you flip, none of this tucked in shirt nonsense”

Junnie (internally): “I would like to thank Jihooned for showing me that glorious fancam for I wouldn’t be here today so see this with my own eyes omfg I lived for this moment I am not ready for this help me… the toilet paper… Jun… Minghao… help… DOLLA DOLLA DOLLA, KELANG KONGJI KELANG KONGJI”

IF I

Jihooned: “Hoshit hold my hand QUICK”

/Hoshit and Jihooned holds hands through the whole song/ *AH PEHHHHH AH PEHHHH OUR FAVOURITE AH PEH (we were referring to Wonwoo)

*Ah peh is a term used (affectionately, in our case) to refer to an old man

HABIT

Hoshit, confused screaming; not sure who to support louder: BOO?? JIHOON?? BOO!!! JIHOON!!! BOOOOOOOOO SLAYYYYYYYY BOOOOOOO- JIHOOOOOOOOOOOOO- makes lawnmower noises/

**lawnmower story will be explained one day

DON’T WANNA CRY

Wooed: “OH GOD JEONGHAN AND SEOKMIN ARE DANCING THIS HEART HAS NO DAMN SPACE FOR BOTH OF YOU PLEASE STOP”

Scooped: “I WANT TO CRY”

Hoshit: “ oh god it’s ending not like this please not like this it’s only been five minutes”

Hoshit and Jihooned: /inhales/ SEUNGCHEOL JEONGHAN JISOO JUNHUI SOONYOUNG WONWOO JIHOON MYUNGHO MINGYU SEOKMIN SEUNGKWAN HANSOL CHAN, ULGO SHIPJI AHNA

Emotional VCR

Hoshit: /WAILS, Cat 4 can hear her crying from VIP/

Jihooned/Scooped/Wooed?: HAHAHA we got friend zoned by Minghao

Hoshit: /more wailing, amount of tears can be used to fill 30 swimming pools/

HEALING

Junnie: OH SHIZZZ LOOK AT JUN CARRYING JOSHUA??? THAT’S SO FLUFFY OMFG MY LIFE IS COMPLETE.

Hoshit; notices that they are spraying water: “I WANT THE HOLY WATER I WAN- GODDAMIT SEVENTEEN TRAIN YOUR ARMS HOW CAN YOU ONLY SPLASH WATER 1 METRE AWAY WHAT KIND OF PUNY PEOPL- JIHOON IS CHASING CHAN GO MY BOY BE FREE”

Ending Ment

/When jihoon finishes talking/

Jihooned: Wts is he high on drugs or something

Hoshit: “i love seventeen”, she says, as tears stream down her face

Junnie teared up here when she heard Jun & Jisoo’s ment. But she couldn’t say anything because all the other admins were sitting far away. All she could do was try not to draw attention to herself.

END OF CONCERT

Hoshit: HOW DO I STOP STREAMING THIS AUDIO

Jihooned: Eh we still got hi touch

Hoshit: oh my God i want to die but i have to wait until after the hi touch

Junnie actually teared up again (what the actual heck) because she remembered Jun & Jisoo’s ment. (Ya’ll have to know, Junnie doesn’t cry often So this was a magical and emotional moment for her.)

Wooed & Scooped just sighed and hugged each other with happiness and feels everywhere

Aaaaaaa thank you for reading through this super long post full of our nonsense and don't worry, our hi touch experience + confessions will be revealed in another post one day~~

17 notes · View notes

bobbystompy · 5 years

Text

My Top 75 Songs Of 2019

Previously: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

First time going below 100 songs since 2015, and I cannot wait. Giving this extra juice already.

As always, criteria and info:

This is a list of what I personally like, not ones I’m saying are the “best” from the year; more subjective than objective

No artist is featured more than once

If it comes down to choosing between two songs, I try to give more weight to a single or featured track

Each song on the list is linked in the title if you wanna check them out for yourself; there is also a Spotify playlist at the bottom that includes the majority of the songs

This is usually the part where I put up a pump up video, but we are going with something a little different this year.

youtube

(It was stuck my head. Blame Blink-155.)

75) YG - “In The Dark”

The video begins with YG chugging a full tequila bottle -- sure. This song is very bad. It’s like he’s in a competition to make the verse lyrics worse than the chorus lyrics (spoiler alert: the verses “win”); not even satanic imagery can save this.

74) Solange - “Stay Flo”

Here’s a weird take: wouldn’t Solange’s career be way more fun if everyone slept on her? Instead, it’s hype on hype -- plus being Beyoncé’s sister -- which makes it nearly impossible to deliver. This has a fun beat/vibe but is kinda boring... and was still easily my favorite off her album.

73) Art Alexakis - “The Hot Water Test”

My doctors told me that I had a disease / I will slowly fall apart until there’s nothing left that looks like me

This song makes the stakes clear immediately. It was released a few months after I saw Art play in June 2019 on my birthday. At the intimate show, he revealed his multiple sclerosis diagnosis as if we were all his closest friends. Something like this is never easy to deal with -- a similar announcement by the Lucky Boys Confusion singer did not help matters -- but music can help such a painful situation, and it’s clearly Alexakis’ exile here.

72) The Cranberries - “In The End”

A very suitable sendoff for the band following the passing of singer Dolores O’Riordan. The recording story (via NPR):

O'Riordan died suddenly in January 2018 at 46 years old and left behind the vocal tracks to what was intended to be the band's latest album. Now, O'Riordan's bandmates have decided to complete that album, In The End — the last album the band will release — in her memory.

[...]

In June 2017, O'Riordan and Hogan started emailing album ideas and demos back and forth to each other. O'Riordan had been very open about her struggles with mental health and addiction, which would affect the band at times, but they wanted to make a new album. Hogan says that when they were emailing those demos, she was in a good place. They started laying down her demos.

"All of that was kind of behind her," Hogan says. "She's kind of found a way to cope with the mental health thing. That's why she wanted to write so much. That's what she kept saying, 'I have so much to say, I just need the music to put it to.' "

Hogan says O'Riordan's apparent stability is what made her death even more tragic and devastating. (Officials ruled O'Riordan's cause of death to be accidental drowning due to alcohol intoxication.) But after a period of mourning, the remaining band members remembered they still had O'Riordan's demos. As Hogan remembers, they finally had the courage to start listening to them again in late February and, with her family's permission, started recording in April. "We spoke to her family and said, 'Look, how do you feel about us finishing the album?' And they were really supportive," Lawler says. "They were delighted, actually. They gave us their blessing."

Hogan says, in a sense, they were used to O'Riordan not being in the studio when they recorded — "Dolores hated hanging around the studio once we worked on our parts" — but, of course, this time was different.

71) Raleigh Ritchie - “Time In A Tree”

Exercise time. Play the first minute or so of this song without looking at any YouTube visuals.

/waits for you

OK, who are you picturing singing this? Got your image?

Well, whatever it was, you’re wrong -- it’s GREY WORM HIMSELF.

This was the best thing about “Game of Thrones” in 2019, sadly.

70) Culture Abuse - “Goo”

Simple, effective, gets out before you can dislike much.

69) Lil Pump f/ Lil Wayne - “Be Like Me”

Sometimes, a song starts, and you can just tell it’s going to be ignorant. Even before the vocals kick in. This was probably our moment here:

Between that and the beat, it’s like the only thing you can think is “Ohhhh, he’s about to say some horrible things about women.”

Other choice lines:

- “Yes, I’m hella ignorant, I don’t give a fuck” (he even says it in the song)

- “I take drugs like it’s Vitamin C / I’m a millionaire, but I don’t know how to read”

This song almost feels like it existed already.

68) The Get Up Kids - “Satellite”

Finally, our first rock song with some punch. This probably takes the crown from both DMB and P.O.D.

67) Bad Religion - “My Sanity”

BR is historically my favorite band, so it is rather deflating to see them so far back on this list. That said, it is Year 40 (!!!) of their existence, so some can be forgiven. Yet... we’ve never needed them more, you know? It’s this weird mixture of resentment but understanding.

66) Billy Liar - “The Righteous & The Rats”

Gonna see him (them?) open for The Bombpops in March; looks quite promising. Has an old school Brit punk feel.

65) Beach Slang - “AAA”

Beach Slang never lets you forget they love -- no, like, LOVE -- The Replacements. When this cover dropped, I googled “replacements AAA”, and, surprisingly, nothing came up.

Ohhh, what I fool I was. After more digging, I discovered a band called Grandpaboy who performed “AAA”.

“Oh, damn -- he finally went outside the box with this pick.”

No. Grandpaboy is fronted by Paul Westerberg. Singer of, you guessed it, The Replacements.

James Alex wears his heart on his sleeve so hard, he might as well give the heart a little jacket so his heart can wear its own heart on its sleeve.

HE DID THAT TOO?!

You can’t even make jokes about this band; they live in the jokes with their damn earnestness.

64) Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd - “Lost In The Fire”

Even lesser known Weeknd-involved tracks sound like they could lead a soundtrack or close out a festival. Are you familiar with this one at all? It has 87 million views on YouTube. Abel is never not not playing.

63) FIDLAR - “By Myself”

Started from the bottom and I’m still at the bottom

Falling apart never felt so carefree and burdenless.

62) Constant Elevation - “Fuck Runnin”

As hardcore punk as this list is gonna get. All glory to Vinnie Caruana. Though none of his solo tracks from 2019 made it, this has an undeniable energy and confidence. Plus probably the best song title of the year.

61) Maren Morris f/ Brandi Carlile - “Common”

A focused duet that drills into relationship dynamics before throwing a personal theology wrench in the middle of the chorus.

60) Anti-Flag - “Christian Nationalist”

AF going in on the white, religious right. This is like throwing a 50 mph pitch to -- /looks up good baseball players -- Pete Alonso.

59) Cokie The Clown - “Punk Rock Saved My Life”

This is less of a song and more of a confessional essay, and it gets harder and harder to look away with every revealing detail. If NOFX’s Fat Mike needed this character as a vehicle to get all of these autobiographical details off his chest, hopefully it’s a helpful therapy.

58) White Reaper - “Might Be Right”

“Judy French” is such an untoppable song, but “Might Be Right” has a similar dynamic.

57) Denzel Curry - “RICKY”

Denzel Curry as a rap moniker is such a slam dunk.

/looks up actual name

!!!

56) Ariana Grande - “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored”

It takes a special kind of hot girl twisted to issue this unflinching request while totally pulling it off.

55) Goody Grace f/ blink-182 - “Scumbag”

Not sure if Goody is a Soundcloud rapper, punk rocker, or some kinda emo hybrid of both.

A few asides:

- Have we ever -- ever -- heard Travis Barker this subdued on drums?

- On the Blink-155 podcast, Goody said he gave Tom from the Plain White T’s a songwriting credit because he unintentionally lifted some melodies from “Hey There Delilah”, but... I really don’t hear it at all; like, it sounds maybe in the same key but not much else?

54) Jonas Brothers - “Sucker”

Despite their popularity in the past, I do not think I could name a single JoBros song. That changed in 2019 with this poppy, light, clappy, Maroon 5-style single.

53) Goo Goo Dolls - “Money, Fame & Fortune”

Someone -- coulda sworn it was Brendan Kelly -- said this was Goo Goo Dolls sounding like Fake Problems, and that is spot on.

52) AJJ - “A Poem”

A poem is song that no one cares about

This short, folky tune led to one of my favorite Twitter exchanges of the year, when I reached out to a music journalist with a question and AJJ came flying off the top rope.

51) DaBaby - “Suge”

This song is fun, but I really don’t get it. Beat is cool, flow is fine... this is the new face of hip-hop? His name is DaBaby! What are we doing here?!

50) Laura Stevenson - “Jesus, Etc.”

Taking a classic and doing it full justice/adding some harmonies.

49) blink-182 - “Not Another Christmas Song”

Blink’s 2019 album “Nine” was very, very bad because it tried too hard and was not good. This song, released later in the year, takes an opposite approach and actually works. We get lyrics that are discontent, even clumsy at times -- the “I miss fucking in the rain” line is so out of place/cringe-y but actually feels real and not workshopped by 10 producers. The trio can hopefully use this better b-side to figure out the best songwriting should flow out of you without having to go through multiple stations on a conveyor belt first.

48) Dave Hause - “Eye Aye I”

This song has a lot I love (catchy chorus, wistful thoughts, hairline analyses) and a lot I don’t (genuine use of the word “old bores”, Van Halen getting respect), but one thing is clear: Dave Hause is in complete control.

47) Beck - “Up All Night”

I’ve casually followed Beck’s entire career and would not have guessed this was him if given 100 chances. As an exercise, I’m going to pull up the 2020 Coachella lineup and randomly point to an artist.

/pulls up lineup and points

I got Daniel Caesar. If you told me this was Daniel Caesar, that would probably make more sense here.

46) Shawn Mendes - “If I Can’t Have You”

Randomly came into Shawn Mendes tickets in 2019, and good gracious, that was something. Other than parents, we were the oldest people there by a lot. Getting to watch thousands of teens and preteens legitimately having the best moment of their lives was downright inspiring. When you’re that young, it’s not even hyperbole. Phones were flagrantly out; I’m talking 20+ minutes of straight video being filmed. I wanted to judge so badly, but if you gave me an iPhone at my first concert when I was 14, who the hell knows how egregious my behavior would’ve been. As fun as the whole experience was, I never wanted to be in a grimy punk club more. Sometimes, leaving your comfort zone makes you appreciate your home base more.

This is a rock solid pop song, but there are way too many you/you rhymes to not penalize it some.

45) Big Thief - “Cattails”

The whitest song you will ever hear that isn’t written by Vampire Weekend.

44) Bayside - “Prayers”

Bayside went super metal with their 2019 release “Interrobang” (such a sick name). So yes, the guitars are a touch harder than you might be used to, but the chorus soars; a great hook transcends genre.

43) Naughty Boy & Mike Posner - “Live Before I Die”

Few had as interesting of a year as Mike Posner. Following a breakup, the death of his father, and the death of Avicii, he decided to walk across the United States of America. He legit became Forrest Gump, right down to the beard and grown out hair.

In the video, you can see how a snakebite hospitalized him and almost derailed the whole trek. After a rehabilitation period where he almost lost his leg, our man finally makes it to the Pacific Ocean. If nothing else, watch for the ending -- it’s exhilarating.

42) Post Malone - “Wow.”

Post is flexing in this one; we’ve got slow motion jamming with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, international flights, a dancing beard guy, and a Fall Out Boy name check which really makes them sound cooler than they are now.

41) Bryce Vine f/ YG - “La La Land”

Sometimes, these summertime Cali songs write themselves. That is until YG comes in and flips over the board before you can finish the game. By the time the Coachella reference is dropped when Bryce comes back in, you realize 1:47 may have actually been a better endpoint for the song than its 2:47 length.

40) David Rokos - “Backseat Drives”

It’s winter in Chicago, again and until forever. If you haven’t been to the Jewel in the South Loop or Marshall Field’s before they changed it, just listen to this so you don’t actually have to.

39) Simple Creatures - “Drug”

Mark Hoppus and the dude from All Time Low give us this synth-pop bop that feels like the duo shooting their shot at a real mainstream pop hits. It didn’t quite get there, but they should feel OK about where it landed.

38) Chris Cresswell - “To The Wind”

My interest in The Flatliners ramped up considerably in 2019, as their near decade old record “Cavalcade” got plenty of spins (peep “Filthy Habits”; just stunningly incredible punk). Though they did not release anything this year, their singer put out “To The Wind”, a longing song about missing someone.

37) Kesha f/ Big Freedia - “Raising Hell”

Kesha, with the help of New Orleans’ Big Freedia, gives us another one. I’ve personally dug Kesha for a while now, but when is it time for us as a society to put her into the all-time conversation for pop artists? She has at least, like, seven HOF certifiable bangers. Plus she kills a guy in this music video.

In conclusion, I think this could translate to a country song very easily.

36) No Lenox - “Marquee”

Illinois/Japan’s No Lenox are back with Reuben Baird on the mixer and legendary masterer Collin Jordan (of The Boiler Room) on the, well, master, and the fullness in sound leads to the assault that is the “I saw your name on the marquee / Your friends were milling around outside” part. They only play it once, but I really could’ve gone for closer to five.

35) Red City Radio - “Love A Liar”

Rapid fire Red City Radio gets this one done in exactly 120 seconds.

34) Barely March - “Lead Single”

This sounds like Joyce Manor turned up to a 17 out of 10 before unexpectedly turning into a hellogoodbye song.

33) New Lenox - “Old Words”

Not a typo from two songs ago -- legitimately a different band. This one was written by your boy. The first 15 seconds were from a demo recorded 1/2/16 before developing the rest in 2019 (after some encouragement). We have Dave Rokos on guitar/bass, Dave Hernandez on hums, and Brian Bedford on some very temporary sleigh bells. Themes: online dating, resolutions, exes, currents, Black Wednesday, hope, and Carly Rae Jepsen stage banter.

32) MakeWar - “Sails”

Honey, I can’t make it on my own

You might get some Gaslight Anthem vibes as the vocals come in, but by the time the song ends, MakeWar leaves their own imprint on this impassioned ballad.

31) Sheryl Crow & Johnny Cash - “Redemption Day”

Was gonna say Johnny’s voice could move mountains before realizing no, Johnny’s voice is the mountains.

30) American Football f/ Hayley Williams - “Uncomfortably Numb”

Sensitivity deprived I can't feel a thing inside I blamed my father in my youth Now as a father, I blame the booze

An unlikely collaboration that makes you forget about its unlikeliness by the two minute mark. The two voices trade spots, mesh, harmonize, and weave throughout this beautiful song.

Asides:

- Blake from “Workaholics” in the video?!

- Choose to interpret this song’s title as a Pink Floyd diss

- “I’ll make new friends in the ambulance” should be a 2005-level emo lyric that we all mock, yet it’s somehow one of the most stunningly appropriate closers of the entire year

- I wish my friend Luke was with us to hear it

29) Stuck Out Here - “Embarrass You”

Stuck Out Here got onto my radar with 2014′s amazingly named “Getting Used To Feeling Like Shit”. Five years later, they’re back -- and not feeling much better. The Toronto quartet’s Bandcamp describes the song like this:

They’re fucking up, but unlike previous releases, they’re finally holding themselves accountable.

You can even kinda hear their Canadian accents in the “I’m sorry I embarrass you...” part.

28) The Weeknd - “Heartless”

The Weeknd will be on these lists as long as he continues to make music even 1/8th as good as this.

27) The Chainsmokers f/ blink-182 - “P.S. I Hope You’re Happy”

A simple song that’s a touch more clever than you first realize. The Chainsmokers guy is giving me some real Owl City vibes. Also, how airtight of an apology is the line “I blame myself for when I was someone else”. It’s like the modern way of saying “When I was a child, I spoke like a child”.

Also also, the “I will find a way somehow...” harmony in the pre-chorus is as pretty as music got in 2019. The Chainsmokers are so sonically pleasing, whether you end up liking the music or not.

26) Vampire Weekend - “Harmony Hall”

ooooooooh, that crisp guitar in the intro

25) Alex Lahey - “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself”

If Carly Rae Jepsen can get a sword, why can’t Alex Lahey get a god damn saxophone? HIT ME.

That solo, combined with the “Mighty Ducks” reference in the chorus, make this song untouchable.

24) Lizzo - “Truth Hurts”

Let’s be clear: this did drop in 2017 but was technically re-released in 2019, so it does qualify for our list despite the criteria threatening timeline. Anyway.

The walking piano part, the iconic intro line (with a lawsuit!), the Minnesota Vikings reference (causing a Green Bay radio edit), and all of the damn positivity. Lizzo was among music’s big winners this year, and her success made you wonder how the hell someone this talented was slept on for those two years.

Let’s end with the purse.

23) An Horse - “Ship Of Fools”

Awkward band name, but a song that makes you pay attention. Kinda like Tegan and Sara, had they stayed more rock. So much urgency in the vocals and lyrics.

22) Charli XCX f/ Lizzo - “Blame It On Your Love”

Trippy vid; Charli continues to give us anthems. Wasn’t super high on the Lizzo cameo, but it somehow made more sense in the context of said video.

21) Sincere Engineer - “Dragged Across The Finish Line”

Sincere Engineer is back -- you can tell from the second those guitar leads get goin’. Drums from 1:19 to 1:36 = /heart eyes emoji. My buddy Cox said his next tattoo very well could be the outro lyric “Too dumb to succeed, too honest to cheat”.

(Bonus fact: they did a beer collaboration/show with Pollyanna Brewing Company in 2019.)

20) Lil Nas X - “Old Town Road”

Was unwilling to listen when this first dropped solely because of how horrible Lil Nas X’s name is (”What if a rapper came out named ‘Lil Jay-Z X’?!”)... what a foolish notion. One billion streams and a Billy Cyrus cameo later, I wouldn’t have been able to miss out on the Song of the Summer (and year) if I tried. More notes:

- Picked this because I had to, but “Panini” is legit good (200+ million streams)

- Went with the original (sorry, Billy), which is a beautiful 1:53 long (brevity, brevity, brevity)

- Did you know: Lil Nas X uses a Nine Inch Nails sample on the beat? This Rolling Stone interview with Trent Reznor is super interesting

Reznor calls “Old Town Road” “undeniably hooky,” but once it exploded, he took a back seat to the phenomenon. “The reason I haven’t stepped in to comment anything about it is, I don’t feel it’s my place to play any kind of social critic to that,” he says. “It was a material that was used in a significant way and it turned into something that became something else, and those guys should be the ones the spotlight is on…. They asked if I wanted to do a cameo in the video, and it was flattering, and I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I don’t feel like it’s my place to shine a light on me for that. I say that with complete respect.”

Still, Reznor is amazed at how the song became a juggernaut. “Having been listed on the credits of the all-time, Number One whatever-the-fuck-it-is wasn’t something…I didn’t see that one coming,” he says. “But the world is full of weird things that happen like that. It’s flattering. But I don’t feel it’s for me to step in there and pat myself on the back for that.”

19) Gryffin & Carly Rae Jepsen - “OMG”

What doesn’t this little bop have? It’s kinda Chainsmoker-y and tingles like cool breath hitting the back of your neck.

18) Craig Finn - “Blankets”

You travel your whole life just to get out to the place you’re gonna die

I love everything about this song: the artwork, the intro, the climax, the command Craig Finn has from start to finish -- with such a payoff. Now several albums in, the greatest compliment we can give is that his solo stuff now feels more essential than Hold Steady releases*. You can even hear it in this line: “When we got to the Twin Cities / I said ‘Man, I know some songs about this place’”. Another life.

17) Carly Rae Jepsen - “Now That I Found You”

Carly always keeps us in the sky; picking one song was difficult because the album is even more fulfilling as you get to put the pieces together.

16) Billie Eilish - “Bad Guy”

Different genres*, but Billie Eilish lived up to her hype in the exact same way Lana Del Rey did in the earlier part of the decade. Lana said she was the gangster Nancy Sinatra and totally fucking was. Billie feels like something potentially even bigger. Nearly everything about her aura lets you project (or even second guess, if you’re a skeptic). Is she dead-eyed because she’s high or disaffected? Or just Aubrey Plaza? Is it her or her brother that’s pulling the strings? How can someone so young be so good already? In the skinny fashion era of All Achilles Everything, how is she rocking such loose fits?

“I never want the world to know everything about me. I mean that’s why I wear big baggy clothes,” she said. “Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath.”

“Nobody can be like ‘Oh, she’s slim-thick, she’s not slim-thick, she’s got a flat ass, she’s got a fat ass,’” she continued. “No one can say any of that because they don’t know.”

It almost seems too easy, but how much sense does that make to you?

Great jokes aside, I have so much anticipation for what’s next, with assured belief in its potential. Pitchfork:

In 10 years, she will still be well under 30. Let’s hope the planet survives that long.

Yes.

(* - though not totally)

15) Ben Gibbard - “Filler”

Before you check Gibbard’s, please listen to the original by Minor Threat. That’s what he had to work with. From there, a total transformation while doing the near impossible -- keeping its beating heart.

14) Martha - “Wrestlemania VIII”

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Third favorite song title of the year/favorite music video of the year. This is energetic, bratty punk at its finest; also surprised to find out it was British, but, based on the upcoming tour dates and YouTube description...

This is a silly & frankly quite rubbish video but when you are a band trapped within surveillance capitalism's endless hunger for content trying to promote a tour sometimes things will be a silly & frankly quite rubbish.

I love them. Seriously didn’t even notice the accents in the singing until I knew to look for them; now, it’s all I can hear. Also, the part in the video where they finally show someone with an instrument, only he stops playing guitar halfway into the solo (/crying emoji).

THEY SAY ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDA

13) Chance The Rapper f/ Ben Gibbard - “Do You Remember”

Chance The Rapper dropped a one hour and 17 minute album in 2019 because he is a monster. I could not name three songs on it, but this one stood out big. It’s Chano doing what he does best: reminiscing and evoking summer in his city. Gibbard on the hook gives it that 2005 nostalgia while also making you say “Damn, it’s been nearly 15 years since 2005?!”

Fav two lines:

1) “Used to have obsession with the ‘27 Club’ / Now I'm turning 27, wanna make it to the 2070 club / Put the 27's down, Lord, give me a clean lung / Took the ring up out the box, I know this ain't no brief love”

2) “That summer left a couple tan lines / I love my city, they let me cut the line on the Dan Ryan”

(If you know, you know.)

Two more asides:

- If you Google “death cab for cutie”, the next autofill from there is “do you remember”. Rough for the legacy.

- “My daughter on the swing like the 2017 Cubs” is a line that confused me, but here’s how Genius explained it:

Chance is talking about a memorable summer and the things that made him happy. This line continues that theme when he raps about his daughter happily on a swing and how that’s similar to the 2017 Cubs. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016; therefore, the 2017 season was one of celebration and relaxation as the pressure of the 108 year drought was over.

12) Lana Del Rey - “The Greatest”

I miss Long Beach, and I miss you...

Listening to this song feels like watching the cement dry on a classic in real time. Lana Del Rey’s galactic “Norman Fucking Rockwell!” dominated lists at the end of 2019, and she -- to borrow her word -- fucking deserved it.

- The Beach Boys line is so god damn perfect

- The guitar solo (soooo sick)

- The breathy singing; the crooning; the notes that go up and then down until you’re surrounded by melody

- The perfection of this album name (minus the very iffy exclamation point) will have me comparing nearly any other all-time album title for probably the rest of our lives

- Tried playing this album during my Monday night pickup basketball run, and it very much failed... but that’s about the only thing it couldn’t do

- I’m told the dude with her on the album cover is Jack Nicholson’s grandson (named Duke Nicholson, because of course)

11) Off With Their Heads - “No Love”

If you do not like punk rock, this will be unlistenable. If you do, what a treat! I love how dissatisfied and put off he sounds, and, while there are a few more lively songs remaining on the list, none in 2019 got fast-tracked to my workout/pump up playlist at this speed.

Factoring in the band’s van accident (occurred after the release of this song), the “There’s nothing I could say that’s ever gonna make it right” outro becomes hauntingly clairvoyant.

10) Drake f/ Rick Ross - “Money In The Grave”

We need to face facts: it was a down year for stadium hip-hop. Nowhere on this list do you see Jay, Em, Kendrick, or Kanye (rest in peace). This was my favorite rap song of the year, and it couldn’t even crack the Top 5. Similar to his beloved Raptors -- who are being celebrated here -- it’s almost as if Drake needed some injuries outside his own locker room to get the crown. But I’m done being bummed, let’s focus on the good:

- Ohhhh, the intro (”I mean where. the fuck. should I. really even start?”)

- The way he says “grave” in the hook like he can barely contain

- The hook itself -- read it out loud: “When I die, put my money in the grave”

- How cool Ross sounds when he breaks in

- The Zion reference

The bad:

- Rarely take this angle, but really wouldn’t mind if it were longer

- Misogyny

9) PUP - “Bloody Mary, Kate And Ashley”

Second favorite song title of the year, 6/8 time signature, satanic references, drugs, hallucinations (maybe), and, yes, the Olsen twins.

8) Better Oblivion Community Center - “Sleepwalkin’”

“It’s impossible to count...”

The intro, as the tempo gets jarringly slower and slower, ironically helps you acclimate quicker. This Phoebe Bridgers/Conor Oberst collab was my No. 1 played track of 2019 (the album coming out in January definitely helped). The song builds to Phoebe’s solo part:

You like beer and chocolate I like setting off those bottle rockets We can never compromise But fighting 'til the death keeps us alive

It’s sung so well, you can almost feel the heat of the spotlight on her through the stereo. The lyrics could be anything.

The chill guitar solo takes us out.

7) AM Taxi - “Saint Jane”

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Adam Krier is such a rockstar, he had me shouting “I’m no hero, at best a zero!” within my fifth listen -- and I was skeptical as hell when I first heard the line. But that’s about where it stopped. You can tell this song is going to rip even before the vocals come in. When they do (”These fears don’t die, you get older and they multiply”), it’s just fucking time to go.

6) Taylor Swift - “Paper Rings”

My favorite pop song of 2019. Tay is firing on all cylinders; every lyric is exactly where it’s supposed to be; boppy and fun and sincere (while still being light-hearted). Still holding out minor hope it will be a single in 2020.

5) Pkew Pkew Pkew - “The Polynesian”

I’ve always said the best songs make you want to live the lyrics, whether they are positive or negative. This one had me researching “polynesian wisconsin” faster than I’m comfortable disclosing. And yes “bed bugs” and “needles” were both in the Top 7 recommended searches after those first two words.

Pkew Pkew Pkew collaborated with Craig Finn on some of their lyrics on 2019′s “Optimal Lifestyles”, and I’d be blown away if he doesn’t have fingerprints on this one -- the storytelling is pristine. Go into this open-minded, and I’d be shocked if you weren’t shouting the “Goatees, tall cans, camo pants, and Packers fans” mantra by the end.

Bonus story: this St. Patrick’s day in Chicago, I asked my friend Sara (Wisconsin native) if she’d ever stayed there, and she held up her elbow and showed me a scar from the hotel’s water slide. Your boy was over the moon.

4) Spanish Love Songs - “Losers”

It gets harder, doesn’t it?

Dylan Slocum has a way of not just writing depressing songs -- many lyricists are good at that -- but specifically depressing songs. This song contemplates death, homelessness, squandering your limited time on the planet, credit card debt, leeching off your parents because you have no other choice, crippling illness, and completely giving up because there genuinely is no other choice. The last lines are, without any hint of winking, “We’re mediocre. We’re losers. Forever.”

It’s wonderful.

Two straight Top 4 finishes for SLS; their 2020 album should be something special.

3) oso oso - “the view”

If Jade Lilitri is making personal progress in “microscopic strides”, you wouldn’t be able to tell by his songwriting. Every tune has a way of warming up your entire body and being. This grabs you, whether it’s the laid back guitar or the mismatched quick drums or the big ass chorus. While it came down to this one or “basking in the glow” (an actual single), the bridge here puts us over the top:

But not as much as the phone ringing Not as much playing my house Not as much as the way her goddamn voice sounds It's like taking in sun And then taking it back I fall into old habits I'm stepping over your cracks again

Her voice? This song.

2) The Menzingers - “Strangers Forever”

This song makes me want to rip up walls, sprint through streets with no destination, shred my lungs screaming off rooftops, bash hands drumming the steering wheel until my sprained fingers beg me to stop. It is such a perfect encapsulation of my favorite band of the decade and possibly of all-time.

Scranton’s sons gave me everything and more from 2010 through 2019, so it’s fitting they end so high here. This is probably the most clownable sentence of them all, but I am so constantly thankful I am alive to experience Greg Barnett’s songwriting. What he creates, I can only compare to the best books or movies or athletes or even personal relationships.

The way the guitar alternates in the headphones to start, the drums that go big and push the song along, the reverb vox that certainly could have less reverb, the “it is what it is”-style lyric of “My miserable memory’s making me more miserable”, the oceanic imagery, the quiet bridge that explodes into a final chorus. Barnett said the overall theme was inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”.

In it, the character Darya Alexandrovna learns of her husbands infidelity and declares: “Even if we remain in the same house, we are strangers — strangers forever!” The idea of becoming a stranger to someone you so intimately know stuck with me, and became the overarching narrative to this song. Dolly’s statement is definitive, but she also realizes the trappings of 19th century patriarchal Russian society. It’s a complex conundrum, and while lyrically I speak in the first person, this song exists in a world outside of my own personal experiences. I wanted to write about the finality of relationships that need to end this way. Strangers Forever.

My only gripe is I wish there were more. But I’m the same person who never wants them to stop.

1) Signals Midwest f/ Sincere Engineer - “Your New Old Apartment”

Only one song could make me fear missing the chance to be with the love of my life the same year I married her. As discussed in “The Polynesian”, the best songs have the consistent ability to put you in someone else’s shoes. You are either reliving something you personally experienced or maybe taking it all in for the first time. And that can be powerful -- especially dealing with anything big picture.

“Your New Old Apartment” launches me into 2009 without ever asking. Age: 23. My life was transient, I had no career, I didn’t even believe in marriage. I left my retail job in the Chicago suburbs for an unpaid newspaper internship in New Jersey. When I saw the people I loved, I always tried to make it count. Still do.

The descriptors and feeling are suffocating, right from the jump:

I only saw you a couple times last year Once at a wedding, once at a funeral I wore the same clothes to both, and I was worried you would notice ‘cause yours were impeccable

That’s me, then. Not knowing how to dress but hoping to get by anyway. I remember talking to my buddy P before buying my “work clothes” and learning you needed to match your shoes with your belt. Boyish adulthood.

The song continues, and the narrator is filled in on 5-year plans. It may be cliche to speak, but every current moment is simultaneously your youngest and oldest. Being in my early 30s now, it is so easy to scoff at anyone’s best laid plans, but I’m also the same cat who thought The Wonder Years’ “Jesus Christ, I’m 26 / All the people I graduated with / All have kids, all have wives, all have people who care if they come home at night” was life-defining, because I was the same age when that dropped, and it always hits the hardest when it’s all around you.

What I love about these lyrics are the careful observation mixed with mature-behind-his-years restraint. For a very long time in my life, I did not think I would get to be with my wife as anything more than a friend. When you are forced to come to terms with those potential realities, you must make concessions and convince yourself they’re OK. So when it’s revealed the narrator’s muse is married, he resigns himself to hopefully seeing the person more and at least being adjacent to the life they are living. It is tragic but still something. It is alternate hope in the hopeless.

I can picture myself listening to this song that wasn’t yet written while leaving a 2009 or 2010 or 2013 wedding and wishing I told her everything. But I wouldn’t have -- not then. I would have poured my heart out into a diary and quoted a line or three from this at the bottom. But that was then, this is now.

In 2019, her new old apartment will be my new old apartment, and that will never be lost on me.

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* * *

Bonus coverage. Since we are at the end of the decade, I rounded up our No. 1 song from each year and have that below:

2010: The Menzingers - “Time Tables” 2011: Jay-Z & Kanye West - “Gotta Have It” 2012: Carly Rae Jepsen - “Call Me Maybe” 2013: Kanye West - “On Sight” 2014: The Menzingers - “Where Your Heartache Exists” 2015: Big Sean f/ Kanye West - “All Your Fault” 2016: The Menzingers - “Lookers” 2017: The Menzingers - “After The Party” 2018: Horror Squad - “I Smoke The Blood” 2019: Signals Midwest f/ Sincere Engineer - “Your New Old Apartment”

* * *

It’s time to stop writing. Thank you so much for reading.

Spotify playlist is here, featuring 70 of the 75.

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